We Were Once Kings
by Keymasten
Summary: A rough and early attempt at an AU timeline for ASOIAF. Beware of cliches, lame plot threads and tropes.
1. 0-1500 AL

**0-100 AL "The Rest"**

\- Long Night ends, Kingdoms are warned of Second Long Night.

\- Men continue to join the Night's Watch.- All the kingdoms begin to recover and rebuild, many of the smaller petty kings begin seeking protection by offering their loyalty to the greater Kings in fear of the Second Long Night.

\- The first Green Men begin their training after receiving visions, inviting them to the isle of the faces.

* * *

 **100-200 AL "The Recovery"**

\- The Daynes wage war on the other Kings of the Red Mountains and rule all but the Yronwoods and their Magnars.

\- The Casterlys open mines at Casterly Rock and the Golden Tooth while absorbing more kingdoms.

\- The Durrandons force an end to hostilities among the Marcher lords by persuading them to bend the knee; then conquer the lands of the Darklyn Kings and extend the Stormlands north up to Dun Fort.

\- Magnar Joramund Wulhart (A wildling) is granted land south of the Wall. Brought back south of the wall, they are settled and build a number of small towns. Bringing with them Giants, Mammoths and the first Pigmy Mammoths (Yakutian Cattle).

\- The first fully trained Green Men travel with small numbers of Children to the other Northern Houses.

* * *

 **200-1000 AL "The Iron Flood"**

\- A craftsman at Casterly Rock creates a new furnace called the Westin Forge (Real life, Bloomery).

\- The Westerlands began to produce iron from the rich deposits.

\- The Westerlands began producing incredibly useful tools (i.e plowshares, shovels etc..) and began to cultivate large tracts of land and more lumber.

\- King Leoth "The Coinmaker", creates the first mint. ( Silver and gold coins known as 'Lions' used in the Westerlands)

\- By the end of the 5th century, the forging method, or bastardization and copies, were everywhere.

\- Iron tools become common and improved; Westerland miners are hired to survey other regions of Westeros, leading new mining towns across the kingdoms. A miniature Gold Rush. Iron is found in these notable locations

The Crag, Deep Den (Westerland)

Multiple across Red Mountains (Dorne)

Crow's Nest and Black Haven (Stormlands)

Horn Hill (Reach)

The Northern Mountains, Winterfell, Last Hearth, The Shadow Tower (North)

Redfort, The Eyrie, Strong Song, Longbow Hall (Vale)

MASSIVE DEPOSITS are found on the now named Iron Islands, formerly Blue Isles. The religion of the Drowned God becomes dominant and the culture of raiding begins.

\- The increase in production necessitates the expansion of food production.

The North makes agreements with the Giants to create giant tracts of farmlands across the North. The new farmlands are used to grow vegetables like potatoes, onions and beats. The access to the new food sources allowed for larger herds and Giant Clans become sought after.

With the aid of giants and methods taken from the riverlands (Canals and water pumps), Eddard II Reed began to drain some of the swamps in the Neck to construct better trade paths and unknowingly discovered black earth, rich soil perfect for growing rye and oats (normally imported from the Reach), that could not be grown further North.

The Reach began a huge number of new farms producing more food than ever before.

The Vale and Stormlands began building bigger fishing fleets

Dorne used their newly found abundance of iron to trade with the Reach

The Westerlands began to take more of the Riverlands and cultivate the land.

\- Green Men begin coming south of the Neck and bringing Children of the Forest into the Godswoods of the Magnars.

\- King Eyan I Gryffin of the Mountains and the Vale conquers the Three Sisters.

\- In 830 AL King Brandon IX Stark decides to rebuild Winterfell, which up until then had been a small settlement and feasting hall. He rebuilt Winterfell as a Hill Fort with new iron parts and defences. The end of the Iron Flood period is denoted by the building of new seats by most if not all the Magnars in Westeros.

* * *

 **1000-1200 AL "The River Wars"**

\- The desire for more iron and farmlands pushed King Eric II Durrandon, King Loreon II Casterly, King Rolyn Gryffin and King Jorammund Stark to begin expanding into the Riverlands.

\- These expansions were resisted by the "Petty Kings of the Rivers", small kingdoms who had kept themselves independent from the larger lands. The resistance quickly turned into war.

\- The River Wars were the first major armed conflict where iron was used, quickly it became evident that the methods of fighting wights and the Others were very inefficient against their fellow man on a larger scale. Typically, when a large army faced wights, they would use long spears and heavy barriers, covering themselves as much as possible in thick cloth and furs; wights didn't use weapons so anything that wasn't useful for fighting the cold was quickly dismissed. Bottlenecking and encircling were essential strategies and relied on the enemy coming to you and simply hoping your line wouldn't break. In small groups, wights were typically stabbed with long spears, then pinned to the ground and burned.

\- The Valeman and the Northmen both fought against the strongest of the River Kings,the Mudd Kings.

The Valemen, after conquering the Three Sisters, had begun to learn that these old tactics were not as effective. By the end of the River War they had developed a taste for lances and cavalry, which were a force to be reckoned with on the hills and plains of the riverlands.

The Northmen, like the rest of the Kingdoms gained a preference for the shield, spear and javelin. This change in approach was slowly adopted by the other kingdoms after seeing their superiority to the typical long-spear.

Allying together, the Vale and the North defeated King Mudd at his home, Greenstones. The two kingdoms agreed to split their conquered territory, the North taking all land north of the Blue Fork and the Vale claiming everything along the Trident until the Blue Fork, including Greenstones.

\- The Westerlands were the first to declare war and fought the most petty kings, conquering all the way east to the Blue Fork and the God's Eye.

\- The Stormlands pushed up to the mouth of the Trident and the eastern side of the God's Stormlands were also the first to make mail armour over the course of their war.

\- The end of the River Wars is marked by the construction of "The Giant's Bridge" by Kings Stark and Gryffin over The Twins, they celebrated with a great feast that resulted in some marriages between Northman and Valeman.

* * *

 **1200-1400 AL "The Rebellious Summer" or "The Traitor's Summer"**

\- Following the first winter of 1200 AL, the Rebel Summer began. In the wake of the River Wars many Magnars were angry when instead of wiping out the petty king families they were spared, some even allowed to continue ruling. Some Magnars saw this as a sign of weakness, others were angry at being snubbed or denied glory and spoils. Now that the kingdoms were recovering from the battles, more than one family saw a chance to seize power. Completely independent of each other nearly all the Kingdoms experienced some form of rebellion or internal conflict.

Magnar Brydan Bolton crowned himself the Red King and marched on Winterfell. King Brandon XII transforms Winterfell into what becomes known as a Wolf Castle (Bailey and Motte Castle). (North)

Magnar Lancion Plum rebelled against the Kings of the Rock and sieged the Banefort (Westerlands)

Under King Durwald "The Fat" Durrandon, the Isle of Tarth rebelled, not once but three times; a woodswitch held the Greenwood and Magnar Massey broke away. (Stormlands)

King Eyan III Gryffin and his younger brother Evyn Gryffin fought a civil war after King Eyan began spending much of the kingdom's wealth on jewelry and commissioning art and statues of himself, declaring himself greater than the Old Gods themselves. (The Vale)

King Gareth II Gardener repelled the Ironborn Urrathon "Badbrother" who had raided up the Mandar all the way to Highgarden (Reach)

Magnar Fowler crowned himself The King of Stone and Sky and went to war with King Dayne. (Dorne)

\- By 1400 AL there were Green Men everywhere. Wanderers tending to Godswoods, Residents loyal to single Houses, and The Green Man, a mysterious figure whose lands encompassed a small strip from the God's Eye to High Heart.

\- The wars eventually end, as they all do.

The Bolton Rebellion is put down and some of their holdings taken away. (North)

Magnar Plum and his sons are killed in their uprising and his daughter married off, her husband becoming the new Magnar Plum. (Westerlands)

King Morden II Durrandon and his half-brother Ronard Storm managed to stabilise the Stormlands until Ronard usurped the crown for himself. (Stormlands)

The Vale's civil war, known as "The War of Wings", nearly kills off the Gryffin line, when all is said and done a 6 year old second-cousin named Ulthor Solomour is named King Ulthor I Gryffin and Magnar Rewan Royce was named his regent. (Vale)

A later King Fowler takes a thousand men up the Wide Way, intent on conquering part of the Reach, King Garth VII Gardener repels him. (Dorne)

King Garth VII Gardener takes the Misty Islands from the Ironborn and turns them into the Shield Islands. (Reach)

\- War between Dorne and Stormlands

With King Fowler's attack on the Reach, the Daynes and Gardeners ally to defeat the Fowlers, further unifying Dorne.

King Garth VII and King Donnal Dayne become close friends and bind their families with two marriages, King Garth's daughter to Donnal's son and Donnal's sister to Garth's brother. Their union prompted many of the Magnars in the southern Reach to make closer allies with those of Dorne. Most notably, the Peakes, Tarlys and Mullendors began mixing with Blackmonts, Manwoodys and the Daynes of High Hermitage.

The Yronwoods, wary of the Dayne/Gardener alliance seek allies among the Petty Kings of the Greenblood. They begin raiding the lower Stormlands for more supplies.

King Durran XIV Durrandon became King at six and ten years, he was bloodthirsty and eager to make war. He convinced Magnars Dondarrion, Selmy and Swann that the raids were a precursor to a Dornish/Reach invasion and quietly supported their declaration of war on the Yronwoods. Meanwhile, he makes plans to take the lands east of Longtable, to do this he sends one of his bastard brothers to bribe the Ironborn to burn Oldtown and the Arbor.

The Ironborn fail to burn the Arbor and are unable to sack Oldtown completely but their efforts work well enough that King Durran is able to sack many forts and burns down Longtable, he begins to consolidate his rule over the eastern Reach. But is pushed back every time he tried to win a decisive victory against the remaining Magnars.

King Durran was not to be denied though, he called for the Marcher Lords to cease fighting the dornish and focus on the Reach, this whole conflict was named "Durran's March" as by the end the King had marched five armies into the Reach.

The end of the conflict came when his fifth army is attacked by a combined Tarly/Blackmount force on the banks of the Cockleswent as they returned to Harvest Hall. "The Red Vulture's Feast" as it was named, saw the Stormland army driven into the river by Magnar Tarly's archers, where Magnar Blackmount's spearmen slaughtered them as they tried to reach the opposite banks for safety. King Durran was killed and a number of his Magnars were taken prisoner. His eldest son, King Erich II, was by all accounts a brilliant king, he immediately brokered a peace with King Gardener, giving them some of the Riverlands his ancestors had conquered.

With the Yronwoods distracted defending their lands from the Marcher Lords, the Daynes take this chance to finally conquer them, declaring themselves High Kings of Dorne.

* * *

 **1400-1500 AL "Redhand's Reign"**

\- After the crowning of King Ulthor I Gryffin, Rewan Royce sought to use his position as regent to strengthen his House.

Under the pretense of negotiating new trade with King Brandon XIX Stark, also known as Brandon "The Shipwright", who had begun building a larger northern fleet at Seal Rock, Rewan wanted to make a deal to build a combined fleet that would be housed jointly at Seal Rock and the Three Sisters.

Leaving young King Ulthor in the hands of his brother Redan, Rewan sailed for Winterfell. He spent nearly two moons there, negotiating with King Brandon. The particulars of their deliberation are not known, all that was put into writing was the specifics of the new fleet and even more surprising, the betrothal of Rewan to King Brandon's daughter Kaina Stark. This betrothal has always confused historians. Rewan Royce was a powerful Magnar and Regent for the Gryffin king but for King Brandon to marry his eldest daughter outside the North was unthinkable.

Rewan sent back news of his betrothal and deal to the Vale. Shipwrights from the North were to travel to the Three Sisters and collaborate on new ship designs and logistics. Rewan and Kaina's wedding was to take place that same year, the Magnars of the Vale began to make plans for travel to witness the union at Winterfell.

\- At the same time in the Iron Islands, High King Urragon IV Greyiron dies with the wish that his nephew Urron Greyiron become the next king.

The priests of the Drowned God are determined to retain the power and integrity of the Kingsmoot. Their hopes were for naught when Urron descended on the moot with his axemen and slew all the Salt Kings and half a hundred priests; earning him the name "Redhand". He declared that the Kingship of the Iron Islands would be hereditary and over the following decades gained complete control of the Islands; reducing its kings to magnars and executing the families that resisted.

Needing to recover from his abrupt rise to power, Urron makes a deal with a number of Houses in the Riverlands who were deposed during the River Wars, with their help Urron invades the Riverlands and conquers from Greenstones to the The Trident and back up to Riverrun.

Showing surprising cunning, Urron declared that the Riverland magnars would pledge fealty to the Iron Islands and crowned himself King of the Isles and Rivers. Their support allowed Urron to increase his raids up and down the western coast but his targets were chosen carefully. The ironborn did not raid any important locations, instead aiming for the smaller towns and traders. The Riverlands supply him with timber and food but not much, the Ironborn "armies" are not vast. Never taking too much, Urron ensures that the Ironborn remain a relatively annoying but non threatening presence; they did not focus on any specific kingdom.

\- Fatefully, news of the Ironborn invasion does not reach the ears of the Vale and Northern Magnars until they return from Reman Royce's wedding to Princess Kaina Stark. Surprisingly, the news does not invoke declarations of war.

One must understand that the main attraction of the Riverlands to the Vale was the farmlands. The former River Kings were annoyances who paid tribute with their farmlands. With the Ironborn Invasion only taking lands west of the Green Fork, the farmlands valuable to the Vale were left untouched. The Valemen, dismissive of the River Magnars simply reinforced their new borders and informed the North, who sent more men to The Giant's Bridge.

\- The lands remained at relative peace for another 20 years.

In 1440 AL, King Urron died putting down a thrall uprising. His son Urragon V was determined to become a king of the mainland.

Urragon decided to conquer farther east, past Saltpans to Maidenpool. He mistook the Vale's lack of reaction to his father's invasion as cowardice and fear. He realized his mistake too late.

The Ironborn and Rivermen were able to make it all the way to the walls of Maidenpool, where they laid siege. Magnar Mooton was able to send a message to the Redfort. Magnar Redfort realised if the Ironborn gained access to the Bay of Crabs, it would put the Vale in very real danger. He passed along the message to as many Magnars as he could, with his fastest one going to the King at the Mountain of the Moon. Meanwhile, he gathered men in preparation for the march against the Ironborn.

The message reached King Ulthor III, who was no more than a puppet for the Royces, and he listened to his advisor. The King of the Vale, the Mountains,the Fingers and the Sisters declared they would rid the Riverlands of the Ironborn and take back their lost territory. Magnar Royce's wife, Kaina promised the King to write her father and ask him to join their cause.

Maidenpool was taken, the Ironborn celebrated and King Urragon V planned to raid the Vale and Stormlands. Just as these raids began though, the army of the Vale marched out of The Bloody Gate. They began their war by clearing the Ironborn from the Trident and nearby towns. It was not an easy task, the Ironborn could escape on their ships and sail up and down the Forks, meaning the Valemen had to be wary of nighttime attacks and flanking.

The Valemen spent a year clearing the lands, only to find the Ironborn raiding farther south and east, just out of reach of their army. They quickly became frustrated and many called for an invasion of the Iron Islands themselves. The answer to their prayers came in the form of King Brandon, he marched south across The Giant's Bridge and together they pushed the Ironborn out of the Riverlands and back to their isles and deposed many of the Riverland Magnars. Together the armies sacked the Iron Islands, scouring Pyke and Harlaw to the ground and executing King Urragon V. He was replaced by King Vickron Blacktyde who swore vengeance against the North and Vale.

Two men distinguished themselves from the rest, Prince Brandon XX Stark, christened "The Burner" for setting 20 ironborn ships alight in one day; and his nephew Rickon Royce, named "The Bronze Wolf" for his taking of Harlaw.

The North and the Vale magnars celebrated together once again at Greenstones, like their forefathers had done at the end of the River Wars. As before many marriages and friendships were forged. This marks the end of Redhand's Reign.

 **-** Tired from the war, the magnars and the armies returned home. Unfortunately, they returned to more grave news. The King of the Rock had taken Crackclaw Point.

\- The fleet built by the North and Vale was completed in five years. Their new ship design was created by King Brandon himself, the first 3 completed were christened _The North's Eye_ and along with _Gryffin Heart_ and _Bronze Sail_ set out across the Narrow Sea, the First Men's first journey to a foreign continent.

The logs of their captains were said to have contained descriptions of many small communities littered along the massive coast. The land had a hundred different names and even more types of people.

The traders were told to exchange their hulls full of metals, furs and food for as many different things as they could. The more variety, the better.

They returned with a better lay of the new land and dozens of different plants, meats, seeds, spices and some interesting metals. The Northern magnars favoured their spices and sugars. Vale magnars were interested in glass and elaborate textiles.

Arguably the most important discovery was of the intricate stone forts built by the Andals. The captain of _Bronze Sail_ saw and drew an impression of one of their stone forts. He managed to convince an Andal stone mason to return with him to Westeros.

That stone mason was simply named Joryose. He was brought before King Brandon who marveled at his knowledge. Seeing his potential he sent Joryose back to Andalos to bring his entire family back. Joryose and his family became the personal architects of the Stark Kings.

By 1500 AL there was a steady stream of ships making the journey east to what was dubbed "Dasmos" meaning, great east in Old Tongue.

\- With the Ironborn gone, trade between the Vale/North and the Westerlands resumed and they were floored by the goods from the East.

Silk, wines, jewelry and more flowed across the sea to The Bite and down south to the Giant's Bridge. From there it traveled to the trident and west to Riverrun, which soon became valued as a crucial trade point. Soon the entire continent knew of the riches that lied across the Narrow Sea. The Stormlands eagerly began sending ships.

The Westerlands were not ones to be denied a source of wealth, they eventually confirmed that many of the best quality goods were being bought by the Northern and Vale magnars before being shipped south. This frustrated them, especially the Kings of the Rock.

King Leost Casterly was a shrewd man, he would jump at the slightest opportunity to improve his fortune and extend his power. He became angry at the lack of access to the new Eastern lands.

When the Vale and North began to war with Ironborn, Leost saw his chance. Carefully skirting both the Riverlands, Vale and Stormland borders, he marched his forces through Reach land and quietly takes over Sow's Point and the still devastated Maidenpool. Quickly bringing the entire region under their control, the Casterly's now had an easter port. King Leost orders the new Magnar Kaleman to manage the construction of a Westerland fleet.

Quickly, the Casterlies began bringing in their own wealth. With it they funded the construction of enough ships to keep the Vale from trying to reclaim the land.

King Leost, now named "The Watcher", sends a token of Casterly gold and jewelry to appease the Gryffin king.

Unknowingly, King Leost also angered the Storm Kings. King Durrandon had been preparing to expand farther north and west, wishing to gain more land out of Dorne's reach. Now he not only lost access to over land trading with the Vale, a longtime neighbour, he had to worry about further expansion by the Kings of the Rock.


	2. 1500-2200 AL

**1500-2000 AL "The Merchant's Peace"**

\- With the influx of trade with the east, most of the kingdoms focused more on exploiting the new lands than warring with each other. Not to say there was no conflict, but any changes were focused more on gaining better access to goods for various economic purposes.

\- The Kings of the Rock quickly fortified Maidenpool and other small settlements along Crackclaw Point, then stocked them with ships and goods. Notably, King Timos "Goldeye" Casterly reportedly had at all times a hundred ships travelling to and fro across the Narrow Sea. The artisans of the Westerlands, highly skilled after centuries of precision metal working, were eager to study new styles and materials to both replicate and incorporate. This desire led several families to immigrate east, determined to master all the secrets they could learn. A number of Casterly Kings decided to pursue closer relations with the Reach and by chance become closer with Dorne as well. The border between the Reach and Westerlands began blurring as mixed families and villages began growing, usually between Reach farmers and Western craftsmen. (Westerlands)

\- The trading brought together sailors and merchants of the Vale and the North to join many joint ventures. What truly caught the attention of the two kingdoms was the amount of records that the eastern people had. They kept track of centuries of lineage, stories, myths, battles and shifts in life. King Ulvar "The Writer" Griffyn became obsessed with these tales, he ordered some of these record keepers to be kidnapped and brought back to Westeros, demanding they teach him their language and alphabet. Leaving the running of the kingdom to his good-brother Harwyn Royce, King Ulvar focused on the texts his merchants bought. After years of studying, Ulvar declared to his magnars that he would create a writing system so they may keep records and tell the stories of their past for the future peoples to remember. King Ulvar sent missives to the North and Stormlands asking them to send their most brilliant and cunning subjects to help Ulvar in his project. It took nearly five years, but eventually King Ulvar declared the new writing system "complete". His only problem now, was getting everyone else to use it. His solution came in the form of the Gryffin's Resident Green Man, named Timmet. He offered to transcribe a number of legends and stories known to the Green Men and have his Order copy them and spread them to the Magnars across the kingdoms. Ulvar agreed and paid for the entire process himself. (The Vale)

* At this point in history, "writing", existed only in the simplistic rune system that the First Men used to mark things of importance and used on clay tablets to facilitate trade.

\- The Stark Kings took this opportunity of peace and wealth to consolidate their rule and improve the North, without having to worry about invasions from the Vale. King Brandon "The Farmer" XXII commissioned the descendants of the stone manson Joryose, to design Winterfell as a great stone keep, the first in the North! King Brandon's true legacy would come with the creation of glass gardens, the creation of an entire new range of farm tools (better designed plows, harnesses etc…) and a massive initiate to introduce new crops to the North (an apple that could grow well in the chill named "The Pink Lady" for its colour, along with beans, oats and a number of vegetables found during his merchant's travellers.) Greatly enriching the agricultural yield of the North. His son, Brandon XXIII and grandson, Brandon XXIV were known as "The Mason" and "The Builder". Together they opened a number of quarries across the North and Vale. Brandon The Builder also became good friends with King Durrandon and King Gryffin promising both of them keeps that could not be overshadowed. He laid the foundation for the great castles of Storm's End and Moonseat. Lesser keeps would be commissioned and designed by both Brandon The Builder and the Joryose Masons. The stone masons were so essential and loyal that upon being crowned, King Brandon "The Builder" XXIV married the female heir, Jorlyn and gave her elder brother land near the largest Northern quarry, on the northern edge of the Barrowlands. Jorlyn's brother was titled Jojen Joryse, Magnar of Stonewomb. (The North)

-The Stormlands found something equally precious in the east, new weapons and strategies. With enemies to the west and south, in the form of Dorne and the Reach, and the looming threat of the Westerlands now closing them in from the north; the Stormlands slowly shifted into a very martially focused land. When King Ormund Dondarrion ascended the throne, every able bodied man in the Stormlands was trained in the spear, prepared to be called for a march. It was a way of life, a common saying was that to have too much of something was "there are less smithys in the Stormlands than _". A common practice was for each boy upon turning 2 and ten, be given a sword or spear to bear. If there were multiple sons, the father would give his weapon to his eldest and have a new weapon commissioned, then the eldest would hand the weapon down to the youngest and he would receive his father's newer blade. The Stormlands became prolific for their weapon design and forging skills; it was their biggest export.

A second son named Barden Selmy decided to travel the eastern lands, merely hoping to experience the world and return with a tale or two. Through a complicated mess of accidental meetings, drunken translators and a treacherous guide, Barden Selmy ended up the head of a small troop made up of third sons, wanderers, soothsayers, hedge wizards, veterans and disgraced nobles; it was once said their group spoke a hundred different languages, supposedly Barden found that hilarious and named their group _The Thousand Tongues_ , one of the first recorded sellsword companies _._ They made their way by fighting for any King or merchant who could afford them, this sparked the grand tradition of Stormland nobles sending their second or third sons off to Essos to gain military experience and some wealth of their own. When he finally returned home, rich from his years of hard work with a wife and two sons in tow, he was welcomed back a hero. Barden was summon by King Durrandon to share his story, he arrived and brought with him many gifts for the Storm King: curved swords from the Dothraki, a whip from Yiti, a bow from the Summer Isles, shields from Ghis, Pike's from Sarnor and maces from Qarth. Barden recounted the feeling of a massive Dothraki Khalasars charging across the Great Grass Sea, the sight of a hundred Scythed Chariots rolling across the plains of Sarnor and the sound of a thousand-man Lockstep Legion marching as one under the flag of the Ghiscari Empire. These tales amazed the Stormlanders, the ideas of armies that vast, vicious or coordinated were beyond their imagination. King Durrandon declares Barden a true hero and bequeaths to him land near Bronzegate to build his own hall. So House Selmy of Haystack Hall was born. Haystack Hall's men would become infamous as some of the most skilled foot soldiers in the kingdoms. They were called Brave Men, named after their magnar, Barden The Brave. (Stormlands)

\- Princess Ayara Dayne was married to Magnar Erock Fowler to further cement bonds between the former enemies, when her father died and she and Erock were crowned King and Queen many were happy to have both royal lines presiding over the throne. As tradition dictated, Erock took the name Dayne and upon his crowning was confident he could begin restoring power to his family and their allies. His death was sudden and unexpected, a tree fell on him while out hunting with his brothers, the entire kingdom was shocked and waited to see who Queen Ayara would choose to be the next king. Simply, she didn't. She declared that she was with child but would not choose a new husband to be king, instead she wed Gidden Yronwood who became Prince-Consort. Queen Ayara was very popular, regarded as strong, cunning and a monster in the political arena, she managed to persuade the Magnars to accept Absolute Primogeniture succession. Queen Ayara knew that although the decision was accepted she still needed to cement herself as Queen of Dorne. Alongside her husband and longtime lover Prince Gidden she began planning the conquest of the Greenblood. Though the petty kings of the east were nominally loyal to the Daynes, that didn't stop them from warring with each other or occasionally raiding Dayne lands. Queen Ayara declared that Dorne would only be ruled by one Queen and that the Greenblood would be brought into the fold and from there they would gain access to the riches of the east.

It would be known as "The One Night War", The Petty Kings Briar, Brook, Brownhill, Holt, Lake, Shell, and Wade refused the offer to become direct vassals of the Daynes and declared their own High King. In preparation for the coming war, all the Greenblood Kings met in a war council, they were discussing options when their entire camp was ambushed. King Briar felt snubbed by the election of a Brook (a longtime enemy of the Briars) as the High King; he made a deal with Queen Ayara, in exchange for spying and helping to ambush his former allies, he would be given the land of the Briars and be given charge of building a great fleet to sail east. Queen Ayara sent a large force of men who met with King Briar, her troops were disguised and snuck into the meeting through Briar lands, then as dark fell Dornish and Briar men slaughtered the camp, capturing many noble prisoners. Queen Ayara rode into the enemy camp the next morning, dressed in full armour with a crown upon her brow, historians believe this sight gave her the name "Sun Queen". She entered into negotiations and by the end of the day had organised the absorption of the Greenblood Kings.

After years of settling the new marganrs and setting up tributes and ruling authority, Magnar Briar began sending ships east from his new holding (Where Sunspear would have been) called Greenguard. The Dornish ships began trading primarily with the Summer Isles and by extensions the Kingdom of Sothoryos.

\- When Green Man Orvir brought the collected works of Green Man Timmet to his King, Gwayne II Gardener, became enamored with it. He ordered Orvir and his apprentices to learn the writing system and to create a record of the Gardener Kings and the Magnars of the Reach. This enthusiasm for writing swept through the nobles of the Reach: The Tarlys began recording tales of their victories and battle strategies, The Hightowers wrote studies of crops and animals etc… These texts began moving alongside Reach goods, food that is bought by nearly every other kingdom, spreading the texts across the continent. Writing became a required art of most Green Men, who learned and passed it on to their apprentices. King Gwayne actually had himself and his children taught writing which prompted the Florents and Fossways to learn as well. The Reach became the first kingdom to have all its nobles learn writing, this spread to Dorne and eventually the Westerlands. (At this point the North and Vale had already normalised writing). King Gwayne was married to Queen Jarra Redwyne and with her influence began expanding the Redwyne fleet and other Reach fleets. This meant that any Ironborn raiding is easier to defeat or catch before it even reaches the mainland. (The Reach).

Queen Ayara III Dayne arranges a marriage for her son, Jorar Dayne to marry Geyah Gardener, reaffirming ties with the Reach, and begins improving relations with the Westerlands.

A historical moment for the Reach, Dorne and the Westerlands was called "The King's Feast", it was named after the famous meeting when King Jorar Dayne travelled to Highgarden with his family to witness the marriage of Prince Dalnik Casterly to Princess Genan Gardener, King Daltis Casterly attended as well. The post ceremony feast was held in King Gardeners personal retreat, a secluded and immaculate piece of paradise. There, for the first time in history, the Kings of Dorne, the Reach and the Westerlands met, even more importantly, they met as kin. Many would point to this meeting as a sign of the future union of the three kingdoms.

\- The "Merchant's Peace" is called so because it is often joked that peace between the kingdoms was bought by "a merchant's dream". The amount of trade and new discoveries was more attractive than making war. The end of the Merchant's Peace doesn't come from one definite event, rather it is marked by the increasing amount of merchant ships disappearing across the Narrow Sea. It became such a problem that by 2000 AL, The Vale, North and Stormlands could only send a small number of ships to ports that were found safe through trial and error. The Kings could only find rumors of pirates from Andalos and nothing else to explain the sudden loss of so many traders. The completion of the new castle of Wolf's Den, gives the North a more defensible position to patrol the Bite from and word is sent to Magnar Wulhart who sets more eyes on The Bay of Seals. In the Vale, the Fingers and Runestone are fortified. The Stormlands simply send their ships further south along similar paths the Dornish take. The Westerlands don't notice any dip, they trade almost exclusively with the descendants of the Westerlands merchants who crossed the sea a century ago.

* * *

 **2000-2002 AL "The First Andal Invasion"**

\- Lord Artys I Arryn leads his army across the Narrow Sea to conquer a kingdom for himself.

Artys captured some Vale sailors and tortured them for information, most of them could only speak a bit of Andal, just enough to trade their goods, Artys was able to get general directions to The Fingers and knew of The Gryffin King but not much else.

Artys was assured by his Septon that the savages to the west would be easy to conquer. The merchant's only had axes and knives as weapons, they had minimal padded armour, incorrectly the Septon assumed that the rest of their people would wield the same thing. When the Septon learnt of their religion he became even more adamant that they conquer them and spread the light of the Seven.

The Arryn fleet landed and attacked Longbow Hall, Magnar Hunter was notified ahead of time and managed to ambush the invaders on the shore, unfortunately he had too few men and was routed once the entire fleet landed. Forcing Magnar Hunter to retreat into the Vale proper.

Thinking he had defeated the so called Gryffin King, Artys occupied Longbow Hall and renamed it Arryn Keep, he sent men to begin pacifying the smallfolk and gathering supplies. The Septon burnt the Godswood, luckily the Children of the Forest who lived at Longbow Hall had retreated with the Magnar and his men.

\- News of the invasion reaches King Culler II Gryffin and he declares he will not stand for it. Instead of waiting for his Magnars to muster, he rides out with 800 of his own men, intent on winning a name for himself. The king encounters the survivors of Longbow Hall and rallies them for a counter attack. Magnar Hunter sends his sons and wife on to Moonseat and rides with the King.

King Culler II Gryffin attempts to siege Arryn Keep but fails to account for the forces sent into the countryside. He is flanked and summarily defeated. King Gryffin is executed by the self proclaimed King Arryn and his body is sent back to Moonseat as a warning.

The Magnars are mustered by Magnar Yorwyck VI Royce. King Gryffin had left against the advice of his advisors and Green Men, leaving his distant cousin Yorwyck to hold Moonseat in his name. King Culler had only been crowned a few years earlier and was eager to prove himself, he also refused to wed until he saw the woman "who was worthy" which translated into him whoring quite often. With his death the Winged Throne sat empty for the first time in nearly 2000 years. Unlike the last time time the Gryffin line had nearly died out, there were no strong blood claimants left. The Gryffins had not inherited strong genes from their ancestor Ulthor, never having more than one or two children and those children very rarely had more than one or two children themselves or died in childbirth. In truth, the Kingdom of the Finger, the Vale, the Sisters and the Mountains was kept together by the strength and loyalty of the Royces, Redforts and Waynwoods. Now on the eve of a war for control of their homeland, there were worries that the election of a new king could weaken the realm with internal strife and separation if not done swiftly. As they had many times before, the Royces, Redforts and Waynwoods met and planned the future of their kingdom.

After the burial of King Culler, Yorwyck Royce called upon the Green Man Tybolt to declare a Kingsmoot. As per ancient laws, all the claimants gathered atop the Star Tower, the highest tower of Moonseat. Three magnars put themselves forward to be King; Yorwyck IV Royce, Dylar II Belmore and Tholn Melcome. Each presented themselves to the assembled Magnars, telling how they were related to the Gryffins of old and describing how they would lead the kingdom. Magnar Belmore promised to capture the invaders and have their secrets uncovered then used that information to gain an advantage over Andalos; Magnar Melcome detailed his plan to burn the invading fleet at port and starve out the invaders then he would construct a great fleet and take their pound of flesh from the Andal homeland in recompense. Finally, Magnar Royce stepped forward with Magnars Redfort and Waynwood behind him and declared the Andals would be made to bend the knee, they would either die or accept the rule of the Winged Throne. Once the invaders were defeated he would determine why they invaded and from there strengthen the Vale in case of future invasions by seeking an ally in the North with his distant cousins the Starks (Yorwyck's son Robar Royce was fostering with the Stark Kings). The magnars unanimously elected Magnar Royce as the new king, as a symbolic move he declared he would not accept a crown until the Andals had been crushed.

A plan was set where a number of messages would be sent to Gulltown and Strongsong, the message would include plans to muster near Sunkenwood and travel by boat to flank Longbow Hall. This message would be intercepted along with copies of maps that purposefully mismarked the location of Redfort and Ironoaks as further south cut off by the mountains. Hopefully, Arryn will take this as a chance to march straight to Moonseat and try to take the stronger fortress. The majority of the Vale army will ride to Redfort and Ironoaks and prepare there, if the Arryns are spotted marching through the Vale they will wait for the opportune moment and attack; if Arryn does not take the bait, they will march to Old Anchor and the two armies will pin Longbow Hall between them.

A messenger on horseback is killed by Andal scouts near the Sunkenwood, his body and possessions are brought back to Arryn Keep. What King Arryn and his advisors thought of the "battle plan" is unknown, what we do know is that King Arryn decided to lead two-thirds of his men into the Vale leaving a large garrison at Arryn Keep.

Thanks to expert scouts and the aid of a few Children of the Forest, the army led by King Royce met the Arryn Forces in the field below Moonseat. As the Arryn forces marched forward, the Valeman emerged from the mountains to the south, it gave the Andals enough time to reform facing the new enemy.

"The Battle of the Seven Stars" was a pitched battle that took place over an entire day, it was marked by seven major clashes between the two armies. The decisive moment came when Yorwyck Royce broke through the Andal line and slew Artys Arryn in single combat. The battle was almost lost however when Andal cavalry, held back in secret, used an old goat path to flank the First Men, they were stopped when a number of Green Men alongside a Child of the Forest named Bark, brought down the cliffs above the path, burying the Andal reinforcements.

The survivors were taken prisoners, Magnar Waynewood rode to Longbow Hall and sieged the keep long enough for King Royce, and the body of Artys Arryn was presented to the defenders, who then surrendered. Arryn's sons and wife were executed after trying to flee, Ser Corwyn Corbray bent the knee to King Royce and was spared. Corbray was surprised when he realized he and his men were offered the chance to live in the Vale in exchange for their knowledge of Andalos.

With the Andal invaders defeated, Magnar Yorwyck II Royce was officially crowned King Yorwyck I Royce, King of the Vale, the Fingers, the Sisters and the Mountains. He had the Winged Throne and Winged Crown placed in the Gryffin crypts, replacing them with the Bronze Throne and the Runic Crown, styling himself like the Bronze Kings of old.

King Royce sent word to the Kings in the North of the Andal invasion, along with the news that more invasions were on the way. If the word of Ser Corbray could be trusted.

\- Unknown to the Valemen, Arryn's Septon had escaped before Arryn Keep was sieged. He and a few knights (the cowardly ones) took a boat and set sail for Andalos. The Septon had seen a map of the west in the Keep, it was large and rich, there was no doubt in his mind that this was the land promised to Hugor of the Hill so many centuries ago. They would take what was rightfully theirs...one day.

* * *

 **2010-2020 AL "Hammer's Landing"**

\- The next Andal invasion struck the one place least prepared for it, Crackclaw Point. The Hammer of the Hills, an Andal King and distant relative of Artys Arryn was a devout king and a bloodthirsty warrior. When the Septon of his cousin Artys arrived telling of savages to the west, occupying the destined land of the Andals and worshipping trees and strange green demons, his decision was made. Gathering a huge number of smaller lords and kings and inspiring them to prepare for their own invasions, The Hammer set out on his own. Ignoring the Vale, he aimed his ships toward a port called Maidenpool.

The Hammer may not have been more than a barbarian king but his advisors were not. His younger brother Erreg was ambitious and devious, often using The Hammer as a way of solidifying his own power, he kept the Hammer as the figurehead to draw attention away from him and maintain control. Erreg was very keen on the idea of conquering western lands, imagining himself as a new King. It is suspected that even before they set sail, Erreg was plotting the death of his brother.

On Erreg's orders, Andal warriors disguised themselves as eastern merchants coming to trade at Maidenpool. Once inside the town, they waited. The rest of their army made landfall farther east in the bogs. They began marching on Maidenpool, when the port began to call out warnings their men on the inside struck, quickly opening the gate and setting fire to the walls. The sack of Maidenpool marked the beginning of the Second Andal Invasion.

Not risking another attack on the now vigilant Vale, Erreg ordered his men to fortify Maidenpool and sent ships back to Andalos for more men and supplies. Slowly they began pushing farther west and south eventually coming upon Duskendale. Once their reinforcements had arrived Hammer declared they would continue southwest taking the outer-Stormlands as their own. Erreg was the one who chose the Stormlands as their target, he had tortured the late Magnar of Maidenpool and found that the Stormland was the most isolated out of all the kingdoms, using that isolation to make the Stormlanders believe their attacks were simply raiding by the Reach or the Westerlands. Confident in his cunning and Hammer's martial might, they began their march.

The Andal army, now bolstered by six other warlords and their men began calling themselves the Andal Brotherhood. They conquered south until Brindlewood, then took the time to consolidate their rule and prepared for the siege of Duskendale.

The siege of Duskendale lasts 3 days except there is no aid from the ageing Storm King, King Erich VII Durrandon was busy planning a new war against Dorne, giving little attention to the encroaching Andals to the North. Duskendale is occupied and Magnar Darklyn is imprisoned. Wisely, Erreg does not push any further; he's content with using Duskendale to hold the new Andal lands. Erreg takes a year to consolidate and build up Maidenpool and some small towns as stronger forts.

With their southern border protected, Erreg sends one of the warlords, Togarion Bar Emmon, to establish a kingdom on Massey's Hook; solidifying Andal control of Crackclaw Point and Blackwater Bay.

\- The Westerlands, upon hearing news of the Andal Invasion regrettably cannot do much. They do not have the manpower to retake the far off port without stretching themselves too thin. They also have to concentrate on defending their coasts from the Ironborn.

* * *

 **2020-2030 AL "Hammer's Fall"**

\- After settling for nearly five years, Hammer became restless, not content with peace he began making his own plans for a war against the Stormlands behind Erreg's back.

Waiting until his brother has traveled back to Andalos to entice more settlers, Hammer led a large force south conquering down to the Blackwater Rush and the Red Wood. He builds a new fort along the Blackwater Rush that he names Hammer's Hold. He begins raiding west into the Reach.

When Erreg returns it is with his new ally, King Armistead Vance. He promised to help King Vance establish his own kingdom in exchange for an alliance between the two kingdoms. Vance arrived with a large expeditionary force to being planing his own conquests.

When Erreg discovered what his brother had done, he was furious. He rode with a hundred men to Hammer's Hold to reprimand his brother. Hammer and Erreg argued for hours, no one is sure what was said precisely but it all came to a head when Erreg left the chambers covered in blood. The guards rushed to the room only to find King Hammer dead with his eyes and tongue cut out and his throat slit. Erreg, from then on known as "kinslayer", ordered the raids to cease. Hammer's Hold was kept garrisoned and made into a useful outpost.

\- Upon returning to Maidenpool Erreg apologised to King Vance and continued planning their conquest, eventually settling on some lands west closer to the mountains.

\- The arrival and death of Hammer of the Hills is generally accepted to be the "Second Andal Invasion"

* * *

 **2030-2200 AL "The Andal Conversion"**

\- King Vance and his sons officially began their campaign by following the Blackwater Rush west, taking towns as they marched. Once they were in sight of the mountains they turned North.

They ended their push on the banks of the Red Fork, building Wayfarer's Rest as their seat. Eventually consolidating his rule from the Red Fork to Tumbler's Fall and south to the Blackwater Rush.

\- King Tyrion III Casterly was urged by his Magnars to march against the Andals.

He stayed his hand because the Westerlands had suffered a harsh winter and intense Ironborn raids; King Tyrion was more concerned with their loss of access to the east and recovering than marching into another war. As such he instead decided to treat with King Vance. The two met on neutral ground near the Golden Tooth. King Vance was dismissive of King Tyrion but became interested when Tyrion brought an offer of trade. He would allow King Vance's merchants to be the exclusive exporter of Westerland goods to the east. In exchange, King Tyrion would foster his children and ensure better ties with his new neighbours. King Vance, confidant that the Andal children would be able to use this fostering as a way to find the weakness in the "savages" agreed.

King Vance and most of his bannerman sent one or two of their children, often second born sons and daughters, to be fostered with King Tyrion and his most loyal magnars. They were sent with septons and guards as escorts, yet mysteriously their septons either converted to the Old Gods, were caught violating their oaths or simply "disappeared" all together. Unwilling to be seen as uncaring hosts, the Magnars offer their fosterlings join the lessons of their own heirs, a gracious offer indeed. The Andals agree, their children would benefit from learning how these lands work.

King Tyrion's plan began to take root. When the next generation of Lords, Ladies and Magnars took their place many were friends from childhood or at least well acquainted. The two regions became closer and the next generation was also fostered.

A historically terrible winter helped to weaken the Andal's morale. Many of their elders didn't survive, making the new kingdom rely on the Westerlands more heavily during their recovery.

King Gerold II Casterly, King Tyrion's son, continues this process and subtly pushes it even further. While the previous fosterings had been taught a mixture of Andal and First Men beliefs, these new children were taught almost exclusively ,by Green Men, the customs of the First Men with only the occasional Andal aspect. King Gerold was was able to arrange the marriage of a few of his cousins to key knightley and lordly houses under King Vance.

It wasn't until Tyrion's grandson King Gerold III Casterly began fostering that the fruit of his sires labour was visible. He arranged for his wards, heirs of House Lefford and Marbrand, to be married into prominent but declining families, Houses Goldin and Allnar, the rulers of Ashmark and the Golden Tooth. Indebted to Gerold, they agreed to convert to the Old Gods when they assumed their positions as new Magnars. The elder Andals were incensed as were the Septons, but too late did they realize most of the younger generation were swaying. The Green Men were not septons, who spouted scripture and demanded piety above all else; they taught that to please the Old Gods you only had to be honourable, loyal to your family and respectful of that which was greater than Man. This appealed to the Andal children, children who lived half lives, children who had never been to Andalos or seen The Hill. They had grown up around First Men, the smallfolk they ruled were First Men, and their husbands and wives were First Men. King Tyrion III's plan was to take Andals and turn them into First Men, and it worked.

\- With the independence of the Andal Kings now stable, a number of Andal Explorers make their way south to being exploring Dorne. They are obviously confused when they are met by the Briar fleet. Frustrated by the apparent falseness of King Erreg's claims, the Andals attack the Briar fleet and manage to win. They make their way south and sail up the largely unpopulated Brimstone. House Uller claimed leadership and built a keep on the shores, naming themselves King of the Brimstone. King Arden Dayne sought advice from his friend King Tyros Casterly, who advised him to explore a peaceful solution, the Andals were willing to work and populate land that no other magnars would. That could be used to Drone's advantage.

Taking this advice to heart, King Arden rides out to negotiate with King Uller. The meeting is tense until the kings realize they both share a common passion, men. Homosexuality, while a taboo practice in Andalos under the faith of the Seven, was mostly ignored by the First Men. The Old Gods care not who you sleep with, as long as you hold true to your oaths and pass on your blood. It had previously been a purely dornish trait to openly engage in homosexual relations but slowly the practice had spread to the Reach and certain parts of the Westerlands. It is said that King Arden snuck into King Uller's chamber that night and departed with promises of trade and a vow to send a Green Man to help educate the new King on the surrounding lands. With Dayne blessings, the Uller's expanded their territory to control the entirety of the Brimstone. Their ports became a welcome resting place for those travelling south from the Reach and the Westerlands.

\- In the Vale, they were faced with the fear of another invasion. Scouts and wargs spotted a smaller fleet sailing from the east. The ships were of similar design to the original Andal vessels.

A force was assembled to meet them. Scouts predicted they would land in the Fingers. House Brightstone lead a force of 2000 men to repel the initial landing and hold out until reinforcements could arrive. Qyle Corbray, the magnar of Heart's Home and descendant of Ser Corbray brought a number of soldiers to bolster them days before the landing.

On the rocky beaches, the Andals landed. Instead of a fully armed fighting force, they offloaded a number of guards with women, children and supplies.

Magnar Brightstone and Corbray rode out and surrounded the Andals, demanding to know their intentions. An elderly man in knightly garb emerged. Seeing the forces arrayed before him, he fell to his knees and threw his sword before the magnars. He prostrated himself, famously declaring, "My lords! I offer my blade to you and I offer my life if you would spare my people! Take among you my children and friends, treat them as kin, and I will give you my very soul! I am Ser Aero Coldwater and by whatever Gods rule this land I beg you, let your steel be tempered by mercy."

The magnars were moved by the knights pleas and its said that Magnar Corbray dismounted and took up the sword. He offered the blade back to the knight and helped him up. This was the introduction of House Coldwater into the Vale. The Coldwater's had been driven from Andalos by their king after backing an unsuccessful rebellion. Left with only a babe to become the new Lord, Ser Aero, the babe's uncle, fled with as many ships and smallfolk as he could. Hoping to find safety in Westeros. He found it in the Vale.

Their main patrons being the Corbrays, who they pledged themselves to. They established themselves at Coldwater Burn in the Fingers and quickly became converted and began adjusting to the First Men culture, helped along by the Corbrays. The alliance of Corbrays and Coldwater would hold strong throughout the coming centuries with many marriages and friendships to bind them. This act of generosity was so profound, that when a new Magnar Coldwater makes his vows to Magnar Corbray, he brings with him a small bucket of sand and rocks from Aero Bay and kneels in it, like his ancestor did.

\- The Reach experienced their first Andal contact when a collection of knights rode out from Massey's Hook.

The knights were eager to claim lands of their own. They had been told the First Men were disorganized in the rich lands west of Massey. Imagine their surprise when two weeks into their journey, a large force of mounted warriors crested the hill overlooking their camp.

Leading the cavalry was Prince Merle I Gardener. He approached the Andal camp under a flag of truce. The knights expected demands of surrender instead they received an offer of service. Any knight who wished to could swear himself to King Garth IX. The Andals, many of them young and inexperienced, were divided.

The more devout men, led by the Septons, refused to kneel before a heathen king. They wished to take their own lands and raise great Septs. Ser Alestan Tyrell and the remaining knights had no desire to fight these men; they were well armed and rode with experience. Parting ways, the devout were told to leave the Reach in peace or else they would feel First Man iron. Prince Merle I led the large retinue back to Highgarden. Ser Alestan was the first Andal knight to enter the service of a First Men King.

The knights began their new lives, serving dutifully, exchanging techniques and learning from their new magnars. Many of them quickly learned to speak a broken version of the Old Tongue. They were permitted to keep a small sept in the vast grounds in Highgarden. Eventually, they married and had children. Taking a page from King Tyrion "The Father" Casterly, he had them raised by Green Men alongside the Reach children. The process mirrored the Westerlands except for one snag. Knighthood.

The next generation of Andals were all knighted under the Seven. The most famous of these men was Ser Alester Tyrell. Tyrell was so skilled that he was appointed as the sworn shield of Prince Gwayne V, the son of King Merle I and his Andal wife. Gwayne grew up with Ser Alester as his father figure, and he mirrored him in many aspects. Prince Gwayne grew to be a fearsome warrior with a cunning mind.

At seven and ten, Gwayne led a force into the Redwood and destroyed a large band of Andals who had used it as their base, raiding the eastern Reach for many years. His father, King Merle "The Meek", did not want to anger the Andal Kings and refused to retaliate for the raids. When news reached Highgarden that the Andals, calling themselves the Red Faith, has sacked Grassy Vale and slaughtered House Meadows, Gwayne was incensed. He ignored his father and called a great council. From the Oakseat, he called upon the brave and the loyal men of the Reach to ride with him. Hundreds joined their march, with more coming as they travelled. Gwayne was well-liked by many and sons of many Magnars arrived with men and pledged their fealty. The men who rode with Gwayne V would all later become the first members of the "Order of the Green Hand"; their ride was named "The Green Ride".

"The Rout at Redwood" perfectly describes Gwayne's retaliation against the Red Faith. Sending small scouting forces, he was able to trick the Andals into retreating from Grassy Vale by fooling them into believing he was marching with the entire armies of the Reach. The Red Faith, slightly unnerved, returned to their forest home believing they would once again be left alone. Gwayne would have none of it. A number of Green Men had ridden out with him and began warging into various animals. For 3 days and nights, all manner of birds and beasts attacked the Red Faith's camps. During the day they would prowl the perimeter, killing any brave enough to try and hunt for food. At night, the caws and howls echoed without end, fraying even the Septons' nerves. On the dawn of the fourth day, the Red Faith could take no more. En masse they left the Redwoods, heading east. They walked right into Gwayne's plan. He had circled around the forest and as the Andals broke the treeline his cavalry trampled them. The attack ended with Gwayne and Alester dismounting and dueling the leaders of the Red Faith. Alester recognized the enemy knight's heraldry; they were descendants of the devout knights who refused the Gardener King's offer. After slaying the remaining knights, Gwayne ordered that their families and servants be brought with them back to Highgarden. Any Septons found were put to the sword.

Upon his victorious return a great feast was had. When Gwayne rose he gave a speech praising his warriors for their steadfast courage and valor. Alester spoke next, declaring that their deeds were worthy of song. Alester then commanded Gwayne to come forth and kneel. He declared that the Red Faith had tarnished the title of knight but Gwayne had lived it. A Green Man emerged from the crowd and carrying a staff made of weirwood, with flowers and vines carved along its length. The staff's head was a carved weirwood face.

The Green Man rested the staff upon Gwaynes head and gave the now traditional crisenting; "In the presence of the Old Gods, do you swear to live and die with honour? In the eyes of the Old Gods, do you swear to protect your kin and kith through the winters to come? In the name of the Old Gods (at this point the aspiring knight would cut his hand and rest it upon the staff), do you swear to fight the Others when the Long Night comes again? Then rise, blessed by the Old Gods, Ser Gwayne 'The Green'"

Over a 100 knights were made at the feast. From then on, the majority of knights in the Reach claimed membership of the Order of the Green Hand. Normally led by a Gardener or a close cousin.

The practice of knighthood would soon spread to Dorne and the Westerlands. Leading to the birth of The Order of Stars and The Order of the Rock.

\- The death of King Gwayne V in 2200 AL marks the end of the Andal conversion, the period of 170 years where the Dornish, Reach and Westerlands incorporated Andal forces peacefully by converting and assimilating them.

\- While King Tyrion, King Garth and King Arden were inviting the Andals into their homes, the Kings of the North, Vale and Stormlands were trying hard to wipe them out.

* * *

 **2100-2200 AL "The Andal Plague"**

\- The Vale was the first to attract the Andal's ire. After accepting the refugees and House Coldwater they had made themselves a target for new Andal warlords.

The Andal's who had destroyed House Coldwater were incensed that their enemies had found sanctuary with the heathens of the west. This was enough justification for a number of Andal lord's to band together and sponsor an invasion with the intent of establishing an Andal point to launch raids. Ser Templeton was given command of the army and sailed. He aimed not for the Vale proper, he planned to cripple the Vale fleet by taking control of Three Sisters.

Coincidentally, when the Andal fleet attacked, almost all of the Northern fleet was docked at Wolf's Den undergoing inspections and refitings. The Vale fleet there was burnt and the Three Sisters taken. Survivors were forced to serve the Andals as shipwrights. A number of Sisterman escaped aboard fishing vessels and word reached King Mychan Royce, who ordered a new fleet be constructed at Gulltown under the eye of House Shett.

King Royce sent his fastest messengers to the North hoping his cousin King Theos Stark would be able to beat back the invaders.

\- Unfortunately, the North did not receive King Royce's message before the Andals began launching raids on their eastern coast.

They raided from Oldcastle to Widow's Watch and went as far inland as Hornwood. House Locke, Flint and Hornwood were able to mount effective defenses for a time. House Stark and Bolton began sending supplies to the magnars. House Greystark of Wolf's Den's patrols and levy were nearly doubled in response to the new threat. The Northern navy did what it could to patrol the coast but its vessels were made for trading and to fight pirates not armies.

\- King Theos Stark's reign was summarized by Andal invasions from two fronts. The Ironborn allowed another Andal King to actually claim part of the North.

\- After the end of Redhand and his son's conquest, the Ironborn returned to their lifestyle of reaving.

During the reign of King Rognar II Greyiron an alliance of Ironborn and Andals deposed King Greyiron, ending the hereditary rule of House Greyiron. King Harras Hoare succeeded him.

King Harras "Stump-Hand", in return for the Andal's aid promised to help them conquer lands of their own. Leading the largest navy since Redhand, King Harras led a quick but brutal attack on the Rills in the North. King Buckshorn managed to conquer large sections of the Rills and the entirety of the Stony Shore. He allowed the Ironborn to use the rivers in his territory to raid deep into the North proper. King Buckshorn warred continually with the Ryswells for many years.

These two incursions came at the worst possible time, a year after the first attacks one of the worst winters on record began. Known as the _The Great Snow_ , for two years, snow fell in such quantity that many small villages were buried whole; only to be rediscovered in the thaw. As with most winter's it was hard on all, yet the improvements of iron and culture proved especially useful. With the help of giants and iron tools, the Magnars were able to clear enough snow that their castles were kept, relatively, clear.

Once summer returned, the North was too preoccupied and the Andals too weakened, to escalate tensions.

\- The Stormlands were the only eastern kingdom to go on the offensive against the Andals.

King Qarlton II Durrandon had spent his reign securing the northern border and fighting off Andal incursions. His son King Qarlton III began planning the first offensives against the invaders. Rallying the Stormlords, Qarlton III was determined to reclaim Massey's Hook.

This is when the historical figure known as _The Turncloak_ appears. Legend has it one of the attendees to King Qarlton's declaration of war at Storm's End snuck out of the castle in the dead of night and rode hard for Massey's Hook. There he revealed the Storm King's plans to King Massey, who decided to catch the Storm King unawares. Sending a message to King Errig III at Maidenpool for aid, he began amassing troops.

There is much speculation on who the _Turncloak_ was, we only know of his existence because of the memoir of King Errig III. Some say he was a bastard son of King Qarlton, others say he was the second son of Magnar Buckler; we will most likely never know.

What would have been a simple invasion by the Stormlands to reclaim Massey's Hook ended up being a war that would spark the final phase of the Andal Invasion.

\- By happenstance, King Errig was hosting five influential Andal Kings when King Massey's messenger arrived. King Errig had inherited his ancestors talent for scheming. He saw this conflict as the chance to conquer the Stormlands.

Riling up his fellow warlords (and making backdoor deals with their Septons), King Errig established the Holy Brotherhood of the Andal. Their mission was to stamp out the worship of the Old Gods and claim the lands of the First Men for themselves.

Marching from Pinkmaiden, the Andals aggressively burnt any weirwoods found and killed any worshippers.

The Holy Brotherhood came to a rest at Hammer's Hold before coordinating with King Massey's army. Together they set off on a two pronged attack. The Stormlords, unprepared were forced to retreat deeper into the Stormlands. Magnars of the more northern houses were either captured or killed and their keeps taken. The Brotherhood was able to march to Bronzegate before King Qarlton arrived in force to repel them.

For the next year, King Qarlton stayed at the front lines. Defending, attacking and counter attacking. He was unable to reclaim any territory, the relentless attacks of seven Andal armies constantly kept him spread out, unable to consolidate his forces. He was slain in battle defending a push by King Massey, that loss allowed the Massey's to take the eastern shore and began harassing the Isle of Tarth.

\- King Monfryd V Durrandon ascended the throne in a time of war and strife. There was a very real fear that he would be the last Storm King.

The death of his father was seen as the final piece of the puzzle, King Errig gathered the seven warlords of the Brotherhood and attacked Bronzegate itself.

\- The Battle of Bronzegate was a brutal 2-day siege, that ended when King Monfryd V led his men in a charge and met the Andals in the open, this battle was immortalized in the song, _The Righteous Stag_.

He was accompanied by many Magnars and 3 of his devoted friends, who had sworn to guard him in the coming battle. Monfryd and his guard slew 4 of the 7 warlords in combat, Magnars Selmy and Selmy both slew a warlord each, with Magnar Dondarrion and his sons slaying the last 1.

King Errig III was not on the battlefield, he and his men rallied the retreat and absorbed the survivors of the Holy Andal Brotherhood into their army.

Unfortunately, Monfryd suffered fatal injuries at the hands of an Andal berserker. He died outside the gates of Bronzegate, as his men returned from the battlefield. A storm had crawled in over the course of the day, thunder and rain now filled the air as the battle came to a close. Famously he looked upon the 3 noble men, who during the course of battle had been forced to pick up warhammers to replace their lost swords, and declared, "This shall be my last storm, and I would have no one else weather it alongside me. You, my Hammers, that beat against the wind itself. May all honor you. May my son one day know true friends such as you."

These men, a Buckler, Estermont and Tarth, were said to have raised up their King's body and carried him atop their shields aided by nearby warriors.

\- The death of King Monfryd "The Righteous Stag" V, and the victory at Bronzegate is seen as the last event before the creation of the Weirwood Alliance.


	3. 2200-3000 AL

**2215 AL "The Reunion of the Sisters" and "The Battle of The Weeping Water"**

\- King Robyn Royce, "The White Spear", decides to begin reasserting Vale strength.

He sends his cousin, Alfryd Egen with a small force to begin probing the Andal presence in the south.

Meanwhile, King Robyn begins planning the reclamation of the Three Sisters.

Notably, he hires a sellsword company of Stormlanders called "The Bronze Trees" to give him an element of surprise.

He relies heavily on Green Men wargs to observe the Sisters and wait for the opportune moment to strike. It came when the Andal warlord, Argos Sevenstar took the majority of his fleet and men to invade the North.

A day after the fleet had sailed, The Bronze Trees and Vale fleets assaulted the three islands. The Andals were vicious in their defence but eventually surrendered. Learning of Argos' plan, King Robyn declared the Vale would follow the Andals north and ensure they would not escape the wrath of the Kings of Winter.

\- In the North, Magnar Stuar Bolton receives news of an Andal Fleet raiding up the coast.

Always the proud and stubborn Magnar, Stuar was confidant in his own abilities and called his bannerman. He sent a short message to King Theon Stark, only mentioning having to deal with "a small Andal raiding party".

Stuar began worrying when Argos defeated his son, Rogar II, and the army of the Flint's of Widow's Watch in the field and then sacked Widow's Watch.

Survivors from the battle returned, it seemed the Andals had ensured the larger part of their fleet to trail behind them. When the Bolton and Flint forces marched out they were outnumbered by the Andal army. Argos Sevenstar himself slew Magnar Flint and took Rogar II prisoner.

With his heir held prisoner, Magnar Stuar's Green Man Rickan advised him to send word to Lord Stark. Stuar refused, it had been centuries since the end of the Red Kings, but he couldn't bring himself to admit he had lied to his liege lord about the threat and now needed aid.

His decision was made for him. While off on a hunt to calm his nerves, Rickan sent his apprentice to deliver a message. When Magnar Stuar returned and learned of what he had done, Rickan was flayed in the courtyard of the Dreadfort. Stuar then hung the Green Man's skin from the branch of his Heartree, further proof that Stuar was becoming unhinged.

\- Upon receiving Green Man Rickan's warning, King Theon immediately sent word for his bannerman to begin marshaling to head east, he also sent word to Magnar Umber to send whatever men he could spare to hold the line and reinforce the Boltons.

\- Umber's men arrived at the Dreadfort to find it in tatters.

Magnar Bolton had spent the last week fighting off Andal raiding parties who had sailed up Weeping Water. Magnar Stuar was running low on supplies and men, his strategy having fallen into desperate suicide charges. When Timmund Umbar, Magnar Umber's brother tried to establish some sense of order, Stuar had him and his men locked in the Dreadfort's dungeons.

Without the Umber's support, the Boltons continued to fall before the Andals as more and more of them disembarked from the fleet and began raiding the Northern lands. Eventually, Argos Sevenstar himself laid siege to the Dreadfort.

\- By this point, the Karstarks, remaining Umbers and the Stark army had begun their march to the Weeping Water. Argos Sevenstar becomes aware and sends out smaller armies to attack the Karstark/Umbers and slow them down; hoping to defeat the Starks and then reinforce the other army.

Argos also sent for a majority of the ships left anchored out of the Weeping Water. These ships were meant to guard the entrance to the Weeping Water and ensure the Andals had a way to retreat if their initial attacks had failed. Now they and the rest of their men and crew were coming inland, leaving the river unguarded.

With the extra men, Argos began scouring the countryside for wood and stones. Using this he ordered crude spike walls be built to deter cavalry charges, forcing the First Men, who were inferior warriors in his mind, into melee.

\- Once again, the Andals had underestimated the First Men. When the Stark army arrived, they already knew about the defences. Warg scouts had been monitoring the Andals for several days. When they arrived, they were accompanied by warriors from the Giant clan, Clan Tun Deg. King Theon ordered them to use move huge boulders and felled trees into the river, effectively damming it and cutting off the Andals path of escape.

When the Starks finally charged the Andal lines, their cavalry charged as well. The only difference was, the Northmen's front line consisted of a handful of Giants atop mammoths, the mammoths easily swatted aside the spike wall. With that gone the northern cavalry was able to break the Andal line. From there the rest of the Stark army attacked.

Seeing an opportunity, the remaining Bolton men sullied out and crashed into the Andal flank. The tide of the battle had turned, yet the Andals stood strong. It wasn't until Argos Sevenstar and King Theon met in single combat that the battle finally turned in the favour of the North. King Theon had been injured earlier in the battle but refused to retreat, when Argos Sevenstar spotted him he immediately made to kill the Northern King while he was weak.

King Theon bravely defended himself, despite his injury, but was unable to best the Andal warlord. Before Argos could make the killing blow he was thrown through the air and smashed into the side of a docked ship. Breaking most of his bones, then he proceeded to fall into the sea face down and drown.

On the shore, helping King Theon to his feet, was a Giant warrior. The King looked upon the warrior and asked his name, it was Nul Dun Tag Nul Din, known to his friends as "Dun Din". In the future, King Theon would bestow upon Dun Din a great mace covered in powerful runes, he would become known as"The Frost". Upon his death the mace named "The King's Bone" would be returned to the King in the North, who would bestow it upon a worthy Giant warrior who had shown valour and strength in combat. "The Frost" would, with few exceptions, become a guard and friend of the royal family, often teaching the princes and princess' about Giants and their ways.

\- With Argos Sevenstar dead, the remaining Andals quickly tried to flee on their ships, only to encounter the makeshift dam of the Northern Giants. The delay allowed the ships nearest the shore to be boarded.

Still, a handful of the larger and more heavily crewed ships managed to make it through and had a clear shot at the Shivering Sea. Yet as they reached open waters, it was too late for them to stop. They sailed directly into the Vale fleet and were captured, with hundreds of prisoners being taken.

\- The next day, King Theon Stark, now dubbed "The Hungry Wolf" met King Robyn Royce, "The White Spear" as he disembarked from his ship, _The Bronze Barge_.

The two kings greeted each other warmly, they were kin, Theon's grandmother was a cousin of Robin's. It was said King Theon was delighted to see his Vale cousin come to the aid of the North.

\- On a more serious note, King Theon asked King Robyn to act as a judge in the pending trial of Magnar Stuar Bolton. His crimes, originally though to simply encompass the imprisonment of another Magnar's men, had quickly grown when the servants and some of the guards were questioned.

The man was a true Bolton at heart, flaying men and hanging their skins upon weirwoods, extortion, torture. The man had even earned the title kin slayer when it was revealed he had killed his first born child as a babe, for she was a girl, not a son as he wanted. With his humiliation at the hands of Argos Sevenstar, Stuar had been pushed beyond his wits and had gone mad. When King Theon entered the Dreadfort to free Umber's men, Stuar had the gall to refuse to give his King guest rights, furthermore he began to rant and rave about what he should be given as a reward for thwarting the Andal foe. His lunacy was only tolerated for a few minutes before King Theon had him gagged and put under house arrest in his own chambers.

\- When the trial of Stuar Bolton arrived, King Stark stood as judge with King Royce and Magnar Umber as advisors. King Star was barely able to finish listing the Magnar's crimes before he was interrupted by mad ravings and threats from the condemned. King Theon quickly sentenced him to death for his crimes.

What shocked the assembled Magnars even more was when Magnar Boltons two sons were called forward, neither appeared. The only Boltons present were Magnar Stuar's wife and young daughter.

Apparently the Bolton son's had fled, separately, in the night. They both feared their own crimes had been discovered and escaped before they could be tried. As a result both were to be hunted down and given no sanctuary.

\- The new problem was the lack of heir for the Dreadfort.

As per the law Svanda Bolton, Stuar's daughter, her husband would become the new Magnar Bolton. But at just 4 years old, she couldn't be married off, only betrothed. The Dreadfort and its lands were large and very wealthy, yet it was underdeveloped. The Boltons had never seen fit to truly exploit their lands, prefering to keep themselves as the sole power in the region and not risk any other families become influential under their noses.

\- King Theon had to choose the new Magnar carefully, a solution came to mind.

The Andals in the west were steadily becoming more and more of a problem for the Ryswells and Flints, even the Mormont's were fending off increasingly bigger raiding parties. It was the plight of the Mormonts that helped King Theon decided, the Mormonts had always been loyal and had answered the Stark's call to arms for centuries. Bear Island was no paradise and they didn't have the large lands and smallfolk the Ryswell and Flints did.

His decision made, King Theon declared that Svanda Bolton would be betrothed to the second son of Magnar Mormont, a young lad named Joran Mormont becoming a new house, The Mormonts of Lonefort. By tying one of his most loyal vassals to his least loyal one, King Theon would erase the Bolton name and at the same time give the Mormonts opportunity to flourish.

\- King Theon left to visit the Vale as a guest of King Robyn. Robyn and Theon toured the Mountains and the Fingers, giving Theon a great appreciation for the neighbouring kingdom. The visit culminated in the two men planning an invasion of Andalos itself. Yet, even with their combined might they were weary. They did not wish to leave their own lands undefended, they eventually agreed that if they could convince another King to ally with them, their vengeance would be guaranteed.

As a symbol of this new pact, King Theon betrothed his newborn son, Theod Stark, to King Robyn's baby daughter, Rynn Royce. This would make the next Stark King, Theod, a good brother with the next Royce King, Rynn's older brother Yohn III.

* * *

 **2230-2235 AL "The Gods Hammer"**

\- King Durran XXI Durrandon, was one of the most legendary kings to ever sit on the throne. He had many nicknames throughout his life, each one stemming from an adventure worthy of song.

Born during a great storm, Durran emerged from the womb with blood clogging his throat. The midwife, having no clean water, took a basin to the window and gathered rain and sea water. She returned to the child and poured the water into the babe's mouth, clearing the blood. It was only after the blood was washed out did Durran cry and it was said to have coincided with a great thunder clap and a lightning strike that lit half a hundred nearby trees on fire.

He was named "Rain Eye" as a child for his ability to sneak through any crack or crevice he could. In the mighty fortress of Storm's End he found long forgotten passages and passages that only the intense rains had ever reached.

As a growing boy they called "Hoof Heart", he refused to stop moving, running and brimming with energy. Durran put his whole being into whatever he did, from learning with the Green Men to learning the way of combat with his father. His feet never stopped moving and he would gallop from sun up to sun down.

Before he reached manhood he became known as "Storm Eye". With his growing age, came growing responsibility. He began to learn the way of kingship and law. When his father was away, it would be up to Durran to handle the affairs of the keep. The moniker came from Durran's look whenever he had to pass judgement upon someone. They said that his welcoming and passionate gaze would shift, his blue eyes became so intense some said they could see lightning flashing in the iris. More than one accused could no longer speak when they met the prince's gaze, some even outright confessed.

His last nickname, "Gods Hammer" is actually a fusion of a number of nicknames from his adult life. These titles were "Greenmind", "Hammerborn", and "Godsson".

"Greenmind" grew from his enthusiastic studies with the Green Men. He made pilgrimages to the Isle of Faces multiple times and supposedly received an audience with the Green Man each time.

"Hammerborn" was the title bestowed when he sacked Hammer's Hold and burnt it to the ground, robbing the Andals of a vital stronghold. They say he might as well have taken his warhammer and broke down the walls himself, such was his skill in both fighting and leading.

"Godson" came from Durran's intense belief in the Old Gods. Ever since he could walk, Durran could be found in the Godswood at least once a day. Sometimes praying, most of the time simply thinking, reading or practicing but always he took the time to tend to the weirwoods. It was noted that under Durran's hand, the Godswood of Storm's End grew into veritable miniature forest it is today. Durran was also one of the few people outside the Green Men to attract the attention of the Children of the Forest. He had been found more than once sitting and conversing with a Child. This led to the belief that Durran was blessed by the Old Gods and curried their favor.

\- Durran earned the name "Gods Hammer" when he attacked the Andals and drove them all the way back to Maidenpool. He did this using military might, brilliant strategies and with the aid of The Children of the Forest.

Durran supposedly went to a hidden sanctuary within the Rainwood and found one of the elder Children. It is said that for 4 days and nights he spoke with the Elder, at dawn on the 5th day he emerged. Upon his head was mask made of weirwood and in the likeness of a stag.

\- The last of real battle of Durran's crusade came when he destroyed the keep of Massey's Crown, the last stronghold of the Andal King Massey, claiming Massey's hook for the Stormlands.

* * *

 **2240-2245 AL "The Weirwood Alliance"**

\- The Weirwood Alliance describes an alliance made between King Theon "The Hungry Wolf" Stark, King Robart "White Spear" Royce and King Durran "Gods Hammer" Durrandon.

\- The Alliance came about when King Robart and Theon sent a messenger to King Durran 5 years after he had claimed much of the Stormlands lost territory.

They proposed the 3 kingdoms join together and finally drive the Andals from Cracklaw point.

The 3 kings communicated by wargs and green men through the small folk until a date for the attack was set. The invasion of Cracklaw point lasted but a few weeks. Messages sent for aid were ignored by both King Vance and the Andal knights in the Reach. King Errek, the descendant of King Erreg was killed fleeing Maidenpool. The septs and their septons were killed and the few Lords and Knights who survived were taken hostage.

\- Tension arose when it came time to divide up Crackclaw Point. Naturally both King Royce and Durrandon wished to absorb it, King Stark was hesitant to back either side. What they all agreed on was wishing to keep it out of "western" hands, referencing the Westerland and the Reach.

\- One night during the negotiations all 3 men received a prophetic dream.

Supposedly, King Durrandon saw a great stag galloping across the plains toward a lake with an island in the middle,

King Stark saw a Direwolf swimming through water toward an island with red trees, and

King Royce saw a man naked with bronze skin walking through a dense forest towards a giant weirwood.

All 3 men brought forth their dreams and the Green Men they'd brought with them all agreed that the Kings were being called to the Isle of the Faces.

\- In the writings of King Royce's son, he says that his Father and the other Kings were greeted on the Isle by a congregation of very old Green Men and some Children of the Forest.

They were not called "King" or by their given names. They were called "The Stark", "The Bronze", and "The Storm".

There they were taken to a great Weirwood that you cannot see from any part of the God's Eye and beneath it is the home of The Green Man.

King Royce told his son that there beneath that great Heart Tree, the Green Men said that Crackclaw point would bring nothing but war between the three kingdoms and so he asked that it be given to the Old Gods and opened to all First Men. In recompense the Green Men would rebuild and maintain Maidenpool, now to be called "Heartport" and the 3 Kings would be permitted to use it without paying tax or tribute, simply provide men to guard and patrol the settlement.

All 3 Kings agreed and left the Isle, spending the next week feasting and celebrating.

\- With the momentum from their victory in the east, the Weirwood Alliance set their sights on the Ironborn and Andal invaders occupying the Stony Shore.

Alongside the Ryswells and Mormonts, the Buckshorns were forced out of the North and forced to retreat to the Iron Islands where they were subsumed into House Greyjoy of Pyke.

* * *

 **2245-2260 AL "Raiding of Andalos"**

 **-** With Heartsport well on its way and the Andals in Westeros either defeated or being assimilated the Kingdoms of the First Men began to focus on matters other than defence.

\- King Theon raided along Andalos' coast and provided aid to Rhoynish lords who fought with aggressive Andal expansion. (North)

\- King Robart improved the Vale Fleet and also gained an intense interest in horsemanship and began experimenting with breeding and training. Eventually, his and others findings were written into a book titled _Horsemanship: Breeding, Training and Riding in the Lands of the Moon_. From then on it became tradition for the Bronze Kings to have a strong stable of mounts held in both Moonseat and at Runestone. (Vale)

\- King Durran was determined to lose no more land to invasions and began building a series of forts along the Stormlands' borders. (Stormlands)

Nearly all his Bannermen were given control over 2 or 3 small keeps that acted as both supply depots and rallying points throughout his lands.

These forts in the future would become the place a young Stormlander was sent to learn how to fight. He would spend a year or two learning in exchange for labour. With advice from the North, these forts were also built to better withstand winter and house the local smallfolk.

The Forts would come to be called "Lighthouses" referring to how in the dark of night you could see their fires for miles around.

\- The first Tourneys are held in the Reach. They contain numerous events such as Wrestling, Archery, Horse Racing, Singing, Contests of Strength, Spear Throwing etc… (The Reach)

\- The Westerlands experience a crisis of succession, King Castor Casterly died childless and immediately the other lords begin bickering on who should be crowned in his place.

Eventually, Lyle Crakehall is chosen becoming Lyle I Casterly, Lann of Lannisport, a halfman and good friend of the Casterly's is appointed his Regent. (Westerlands)

Lyle and his father Magnar Crakehall die in a great fire in 2250 AL. Lann of Lannisport marries Crakehalls widow, the daughter of a Casterly cousin. He uses bribes, manipulation and force to name himself King of the Rock. He spent the next 5 years securing his throne by becoming close friends with the Gardener King and bringing in a lot of wealth through trade.

\- Dorne goes through a philosophical and scientific boom. Advances in medicine, botany and glassworking are created and tested by Dornish wise men in conjunction with Green Men.

* * *

 **2260-3000 AL**

 **-** In Westeros, the rest of the 3rd Millennium consisted of a large population boom, very mild winters and a sense of complacency.

Occasional Andal raids were driven off.

Border Skirmishes in the Riverlands and Stormlands become more common

The Western Kingdoms and the Eastern Kingdoms become closer respectively

Iron metalworking becomes more complex and efficient.

Godswoods become common sight in Crackclaw Point and other formerly Andal-held lands.

Giant Clans begin migrating South, 3 Clans even make it all the way to Dorne and settle in the Prince's Pass, the Boneway and along the Greenblood.

The feud between the Manderlys and Peakes reaches a climax as men from both families fight in the streets of HighGarden. All 3 sons of Magnar Peake are killed, in response King Perceon III Gardener allowed Magnar Peake and his allies to attack the Manderlys, who fled the Reach in its entirety. They made their way east and travelled all the way to Heartsport. While docked there the former Magnar Manderly met Rodrick GreyStark, the two became friends and Rodrick invited the Manderlys to come North and meet his father. By the end of their visit the Manderlys had been given charge of a small town North of the Wolf's Den, which they christened White Harbor. It began serving as a commercial dock rather than a military outpost like Seal Rock.

The bastard son of King Eddard Stark, Tollen Whitewalk, travels north and wins the hand of Magnar Wulhart's daughter. With the Kings permission they begin the cadet branch House Whitewul.

\- Andalos is mired in poverty, plague and civil wars. The loss of so many powerful Kings and Lords in Westeros leaves the Andals divided, even faith in the Seven who are One begins to crumble. Small knightly houses begin immigrating west to Westeros and swearing themselves to Kings.

\- The Ghiscari Empire begins marching out from Ghis and conquering much of Essos.

\- Whispers start to spread from the land of Valyria of Dragonlords and sorcerers.


	4. 3000-6300 AL

**3000-3300 AL "The Dragon Spreads its Wings"**

\- Beginning in 3000 AL the first Valyrian's began spreading out from their single grand city, Valyria. Hosts of soldiers led by a company of Dragonlords and their dragons marched out of to began securing both the rest of the Lands of Long Summer and lands north of their stronghold.

The Empire of Ghis attempted to invade Valyria itself 5 seperate times. Their fleets burned and their famed Lockstep Legions melted under dragonfire. Within 2 decades Valyria invaded Old Ghis and razed it to the ground, taking its former people as slaves. With its capital and ruling body gone, the Ghiscari Empire broke apart and cities that were once loyal to the Harpy become vassals of the Dragon.

They began the construction of Volantis, Tolos, Mantarys and Bhorash. The Dragonlords claimed their new lands under the name of the Valyrian Freehold.

Valyria then focused on controlling the lands to the west of their peninsula, engaging in trade with the Rhoynish and expanding their population, exploring on Dragonback to all corners of the globe, from Asshai in the Shadow, south to Sothoroyos and even west to Westeros or as they named it "The Sunset Kingdom" and "The Land of Trees."

They built Lys and Myr to act as a trade connection to Westeros, they also engaged in trade with Yi Ti, Sarnor and drove back the Dothraki tribes.

\- Sometime during their expansion there was a religious schism within the Freehold. The practice of religious tolerance toward their new subjects angered the most devout of the Valyrian Faith. These extremists left the Valyrian Peninsula and became semi nomadic until individual worship groups would come to control the new Valyrian colonies.

* * *

 **3300-3600 AL "King of the Seven Hills"**

\- Word of the Ghiscari's swift and brutal defeat at the hands of the Valyrians sent a shock of fear among the Andal lords. Many of them began debating launching a combined invasion of Westeros to escape the wrath of the Dragonlords.

Lord Osric Arryn, the descendent of Artys Arryn's younger sister and ironically his Septon that escaped back to Andalos, wouldn't hear of it. His family had long ascribed to the idea that Westeros was not the place for Andals and instead they must stay and protect the land of the Seven Hills.

\- Lord Arryn managed to convince House Forebrand, Allyrion, Lefford, Grafton, Estermont and Martell to support him.

The 7 Lords made a pilgrimage to Hugor's Sept, a modest temple that was said to have been built by Hugor of the Hill's sons. There they swore before the Seven Who Are One that Andalos would never fall. They decided to hold a Grand Council to be held in the city of Antos, a prospering settlement on the western coast.

A large number of Lords of all status and wealth convened in the city, which was under the control of House Grafton who'd defeated and destroyed its original owners House Brooken.

Under the guidance of elder Septons, the Lords convened. Lord Osric Arryn declared that to survive the coming Dragonlords they must crown a new King of the Andals, as Hugor was crowned by the Father. The next week was filled with furious debates, speeches, fist fights and nearly murder.

At the end of the Great Council, the support was split between Lord Osric Arryn and unexpectedly Lord Castern (the Casterly branch that immigrated to Essos). To avoid a civil war the Septons declared a trial by combat would prove which Lord the Gods favoured.

Amidst the Seven Hills, a seven pointed star was marked out with stones and at each point a symbol of the Gods was positioned. A scale for the justice of the Father, a swaddle of cloth around piece of wood for the love of the Mother, a sword for the bravery of the Warrior, a hammer for the strength of the Smith, a flower for the purity of the Maiden, a lamp for the wisdom of the Crone and finally a skull so the Stranger may gaze upon the souls of the champions.

In _The Seven-Pointed Star_ , they say that Lord Arryn and Castern fought for 7 hours, one for each of the Gods and at the end of the 7th hour, Lord Castern fell to his knees before Lord Arryn and proclaimed him "King of Andalos, the Andals, a true son of Hugor and chosen champion of the Seven Who Are One."

\- Of course simply bearing the title of King did not make Arryn automatically the ruler of Andalos.

King Arryn created the position of High Septon and worked with the same council of elders to start bringing some measure of structure to the Faith of the Seven.

Lords and smallfolk were persuaded to accept the rule of King Arryn through religious pressure, incentives of wealth or through the threat of war.

While King Osric Arryn is remembered as the first King of Valyrian-age Andalos, the Arryn's control of Andalos didn't solidify until his grandson Hugo Arryn married Daenila Castern and united the two strongest families in the Kingdom.

\- In 3410 AL the Valyrian Freehold finally began to expand into territory bordering Andalos.

\- The Andals had contact with the Valyrians through trade with the Rhoynish and found their use of slaves to be blasphemous. More than one Lord and his people met their end for refusing to obey the Freehold and their lands were scoured by the Valyrian's armies, who wore armour of strong steel and were drawn from the ranks of the non-dragonlord Valyrian families.

\- King Osgood Arryn, "The Old Falcon" was King when the first Valyrian Envoys came to his court at Antos, now the largest city north of Myr.

The Valyrians had arrived on Dragonback with an honor guard; their ethereal beauty, their intelligence and their Dragons quickly began swaying many Lords to their offer of vassalization.

King Osgood was adamant that he be given time to think on their offer and speak with his Lords, making sure he gave the Valyrians all the respect and groveling they believed they were due.

\- In secret Osgood had sent his son, Oswin "The Talon" to visit the former Ghiscari cities of Slaver's Bay. When Oswyck returned in 3450 AL, he brought with him many copies of Ghiscari accounts from their wars with Valyria. Most valuable of his findings was a collection of works from a Ghiscari general named Azher na Adhuuk. Azher had fought the Dragonlords along Ghis' northern border and among the Bone Mountains.

Azher claimed that his men were able to kill 2 dragons. The great lizards had been forced to fly underneath the Bone Peaks to reach his soldiers, so he set up troops of men with stockpiles of various objects (rocks, spears, oil) and attempted to bring them down. His strategy finally worked when a soldier managed to throw two heavy balls of iron linked by a chain that landed on a Dragon's neck which pulled it into a dive that it couldn't stop until it impaled itself on sharp rubble. The 2nd dragon was killed when heavy iron spears were dropped onto it while it was resting from a flight, the spears managed to injure its wings and the dragon was swarmed by Ghiscari foot soldiers who brought it down.

Azher had the Dragons dissected and spent a large amount of his personal time experimenting on the what he managed to collect from the dragon corpses, he took copious notes on what materials worked best and which were ineffective etc…

Of course the General and all his men were subsequently wiped out by the Valyrians, his account only survived because he'd sent it alongside a number of wounded soldiers that escaped before the battle ended.

\- With Azher na Adhuuk's writings and other texts from Old Ghis, King Osgood decided that Andalos had no way to resist the Valyrians at the moment. He accepted vassalization under the Valyrians in 3455 AL.

The Valyrians viewed the Andals as nothing more than squabbling savages, barbarians who worshipped false gods and were descendants of failed conquerors. They had little to offer the Freehold outside of labour and materials, but the fact that they'd been united under a single ruler meant they couldn't be ignored.

In an act of scorn, the Valyrians allowed the Arryns to continue bearing the title of Kings but insisted that it be changed. King Osgood would spend the rest of his life known as "Osgood Arryn, First of his name, King of the Andals, faithful servant of the Dragonlords and loyal Vassal to the Valyrian Freehold." Osgood was wise enough to accept the insult in face of his kingdom being destroyed.

The Arryns didn't forget this slight or their plans. Upon the completion of the Arryns palace in Antos, The Eyrie, they built deep in its catacombs a number of hidden chambers that would come to hold the Arryns plans and designs for their eventual rebellion against the Valyrians.

\- Andalos remained under strict supervision by the Valyrians for another 100 years, in the meantime the Valyrians built the settlements of Norvos and Qohor.

\- In 3570 AL, a warrior named Qarlon united the Lorathi islands and proclaimed that he would become King of All Andals and cast out the Valyrians.

His army began conquering the Axe and the Andal settlements along the coast.

The Valyrians couldn't be bothered to send an army to put them down and instead charged King Oswell Arryn with defeating what they saw as a rebellion, despite the Lorathi Islands not being part of the Kingdom of Andalos.

The Valyrian diplomat of the time supposedly told King Arryn his war with these upstarts would be a "test of both allegiance and capability".

\- For 20 years King Oswell Arryn fought Qarlon the Great.

As Qarlon conquered more territory his army grew. "Defeated" Lords eagerly marched alongside him, swept up in his promises of glory and having never seen the aftermath of Valyrian wrath.

In 3590 AL, Qarlon ruled all along the northern coast. From the Shivering Marches all the way east to the Axe and even south to the headwaters of the Upper Rhoyne and Noyne.

Threatened by Qarlon's expansion, King Oswell convinced the city of Norvos to close the Noyne, denying Qarlon his previously safest and most profitable trading route.

Qarlon in retaliation marched on Norvos, King Oswell and the Norvishi army met Qarlon in the Hills of Norvos. King Oswell was victorious and Qarlon was forced to retreat.

With proof that Qarlon was not afraid to attack Valyrian colonies, an army was sent by the Freehold to destroy Qarlon's makeshift kingdom.

12'000 men and 100 Dragonlords were sent, supported by King Oswell's forces. Together the host reclaimed northern-western Essos, and burnt Qarlon on his march back to the Lorathi Isles and then burnt his holdings on the Isles themselves, their attack was called the Scouring of Lorath and supposedly left no survivors.

\- With the death of Qarlon and stronger ties to the Freehold, 3600 AL would see the Andals fully settle into their role as a Valyrian vassal.

* * *

 **3600-6300 AL "The Freehold Reigns"**

\- With their empire stabilized, the Valyrians turned to other pursuits.

They built the Valyrian Roads, or Dragon Roads, connecting most of Essos by highway.

The cities of the Valyrian Peninsula grew even more glorious, as the Dragonlords delved deeper and deeper into sorcery and their own narcissism.

The vassal cities grew larger, the complete rule of the Dragonlords keeping conflict to a minimum or at least to a small scale and essentially forcing trade.

Slavery became an enforced practice throughout the Freehold either reserved for the richest or developing into integral part of everyday life.

Valyria continues to unsuccessfully settle the Basilisk Isles in Sothoryos.

\- Pressure from Valyria forced the Faith of the Seven to began adapting to the Freehold's culture..

As Valyria brought slaves into and out of Andalos, the Faith slowly ceased speaking of Slavery as a blasphemous crime.

Incest, Polygamy and Witchcraft were no longer officially denounced as sins.

The personas of the Seven aspects shifted, by 6000 AL the Father became a "Wise Master" and the most loyal subjects depicted him as a Dragonlord, the Mother carried 2 children (implying they will marry), the Smith was said to have crafted the first Valyrian Steel Sword, the Warrior bore a shield that depicted a star upon a Dragon's head, The Maiden grew silver Valyrian hair, The Crone practiced blood magic, and the Stranger became the patron of slaves. Even Hugor of the Hill was reimagined as an ancient Valyrian explorer.

\- The plans of the early Arryn Kings to rid themselves of Valyrian rule fell through when the Arryn dynasty was deposed in 4700 AL.

King Ronnel Arryn, "The King Who Flew", refused to support his family's plan to break away from the Freehold, he was envious of the power, wealth and beauty of his Valyrian lieges and desired to be like them. He spent most of his life, starting in his adolescence, trying to marry a Valyrian noble.

Ronnel managed to curry favour with a 2nd daughter of a minor Valyrian family, Talyan Maegrin. Talyan supposedly hated her siblings, who'd been married and were the designated heirs of her family. Her prospects were low and more than likely she would have been married off to another 2nd son. This description is suspect as conflicting accounts also describe Talyan as an intelligent woman who worked with her mother to seduce Ronnel. Whether Talyan was a spiteful child or a clever noblewoman didn't change Ronnel's decision to secretly bring Talyan to Antos and announce their betrothal.

It shocked many, but angered two people in particular; Jonos Arryn (Ronnel's younger brother) and Rhogal Maegrin (Talyan's older brother). Jonos was a fervent believer in the Arryn goal of independence and saw his brother as a greedy fool who was going to doom their family by corrupting their line with "Dragonblood". On the opposite side, Rhogal presumably held typical Valyrian beliefs about "Blood Purity" and very likely viewed his sister's betrothal as a stain on his prestige and status.

Jonos Arryn began gathering together a small force of loyalists with the aim of deposing his brother and sending the Valyrian girl home.

Rhogal began speaking to his peers, exaggerating and sensationalising what his sister's marriage would lead to; Andal half breeds gaining True Valyrian property, corrupting the purity of the Freehold, stealing Valyrian knowledge and magic.

Rhogal's most successful plan was convincing the young Dragonlord Aemyr Targaryen that King Arryn's marriage would set a dangerous precedent and potentially give the "savages" a way to one day gain dragons of their own. Aemyr brought this worry before the Valyrian Council, he was convincing enough to be given permission to lead 10 Dragonlords and 15,000 troops to stop the marriage, Aemyr allowed Rhogal to accompany him to ensure his sister returned unharmed.

Word of Lord Targaryen's march to Antos reaches the Arryns. King Ronnel panics and actually begins preparing to flee to Westeros with his bride-to-be. Jonos catches wind of his brother's plan and he moves to apprehend his brother. Nearly half of House Arryn's men side with him, backed by House Martell and House Lefford. Jonos rushed into Ronnel's rooms before dawn and arrested him and his wife, his soldiers occupied the throne room and the walls of the keep. Jonos held court that morning sitting upon the Seven-Star Throne wearing the Falcon Crown. Outraged at Jonos's coup, fighting broke out with the Houses that still supported King Ronnel, like House Allyrion, Estermont, Forebrand and Castern. Within a moon's turn the loyalist armies had marched on Antos and laid siege to the city.

The Targaryen army arrived a week into the siege. Rhogal and Aemyr met with Lord Castern outside the city. The Valyrians saw it as their responsibility to quickly resolve the situation. The Dragons bypassed the city walls and landed outside the palace. Aemyr Targaryen marched into the throne room and met Jonos Arryn, who had Ronnel and Talyan with him under guard.

The Dragonlords were incensed to see Talyan in chains, Aemyr ordered Jonos to release her. Before Talyan could be freed, Ronnel ran forward in anger and held Talyan back. He declared that as his wife Talyan could not leave (it should be noted that the historical records mention Talyan seemed completely accepting of the situation and did not struggle to stay at Ronnel's side, most likely she understood that letting the conflict continue wouldn't change the outcome). Aemyr was not impressed, Rhogal marched forward to take his sister back but Ronnel struck him in retaliation. Aemyr was outraged that Ronnel would dare spill the blood of a Valyrian Noble, he ordered that both Talyan and Ronnel be turned over to him, Ronnel would be tried and executed for "Assaulting one of the Blood."

Jonos knew that if he handed over his brother, he would be seen as nothing more than a kinslayer who let his King be treated as nothing more than a common criminal to appease the Targaryens. Jonos tried to negotiate with Aemyr, most likely he hoped to gain permission to simply exile the King and then take his place. When Ronnel shouted out at the Dragonlord and demanded a trial by combat for his freedom, the Targaryen Lord was all too happy to accept.

In the courtyard of the White Palace, Aemyr and Ronnel fought. Despite Aemyr's boasting Ronnel was not an inept warrior, he was a Knight in his own right and his father had been a harsh taskmaster. The two men were quite evenly matched in skill but Aemyr's Valyrian sword put Ronnel at an immediate disadvantage. Despite this Ronnel fought like a master, some say he embodied the Warrior himself. Ronnel's final act of the duel was to disarm Aemyr and nearly cut open his throat. Ronnel's triumph was cut short when the injured Aemyr cried out in High Valyrian, his dragon Jelmnuys crashed into the palace, it grabbed Ronnel and carried him high above the sky and dropped him. All of Antos watched as their King screamed and smashed into the roof of the White Palace.

Jonos was enraged and was held back from attacking Aemyr, who was being healed by one of the sorcerers that accompanied him. Before retiring to his camp, Aemyr ordered that Jonos and all the Arryn men be kept under watch pending judgement. Using a Glass Candle he contacted the Valyrian Council to receive orders on how to proceed.

The following week Aemyr decreed that the Arryns would be removed from power and demoted to Lords once again. He instructed the High Septon to organize a Grand Council to choose the next King of Andalos, a Council over which he and his Dragonlords would proside.

The 2nd Grand Council elected King Lordon Lefford to take Ronnel Arryn's throne. His kingship would not last, in fact for one reason or another from 4700 AL to 6000 AL there was a grand total of 12 Grand Councils, with power changing hands at least once every few centuries.

The Arryn's secret chamber was lost for the rest of the Freehold's existence. Jonos returned to the old stronghold of the Arryn's, Wing Hold, which had been held by a cadet branch for the last 1000 years. Jonos expected to take up the title of Lord Arryn but was informed by the Valyrians that he had no claim to the seat. Jonos, "The Kinslayer" passed from a summer sickness soon after; the royal line of Arryn died with him.

\- Andalos survives and in some places thrives for the next 1300 years.

A minor civil war drives a number of Merchant families to Westeros.

The Martells begin funding exploration and trade missions to both Dorne and the Summer Islands.

Andalos slowly begins to adapt slavery outside of personal slaves for Highborn. It begins with small folk who fall into debt being taken as labourers until their debt is paid off, then it is extended to a shared debt of the whole family and future generations. In 5200 AL, after a great census by King Norich Grafton, it was estimated that 300'000 people lived in Antos of that 90'000 were either debt slaves or foreign slaves.

Slavery grew to be practiced by all classes above peasant. Merchants and Knightly houses didn't have the wealth to maintain large slave numbers but Highborns and even a small portion of Septs kept slaves to fill various roles (such as Warrior Sons, slave guards similar to the Fiery Hand of the R'hollor)

\- Periodically slaves escaped from Essos and crossed the Narrow Sea to find freedom in Westeros. The Green Men say you can track Slave migrations by examining when places along the eastern coast of Westeros experienced population booms.

The Isle of Tarth and Greenstone in the Stormlands became popular refuges for Slave sailors. On Greenstones a former-slave turned pirate saved the life of King Erich V Durrandon when his ship sank off the coast of the Rainwood. The Pirate, simply called Black Breath, saved nearly the entire crew and housed them in the small shanty town and port he claimed rule over. King Erich spent a week on Greenstone before inviting Black Breath to visit Storm's End. Supposedly Black Breath so impressed King Erich and the other Stormlords with his knowledge and mastery of ships that Erich awarded him the Lordship of Greenstone. Thus House Blackbreath was the first "Freed Family" as they would come to be called.

On the southern side of Crackclaw Point, a huge number of sick and starving slaves fleeing from Antos landed, where they encountered a group of Wandering Green Men who tended to their wounds and helped them survive their first weeks. The Green Men also introduced the refugees to the Old Gods, bringing any who asked to the nearest Weirwood. The slaves begin worshipping the Old Gods and learning from the Green Men, they established a town called Heart's Rest and pledged themselves to The Isle of the Faces.

Greenguard in Dorne becomes an extremely popular place for escapees to make their new life, The Briars used this influx to begin populating the sparser lands along the Greenblood.

White Harbour was the North's main landing point but the slaves who reached it usually migrated west and south closer to the Neck, mostly in Moat Cailin and the nearby town of Moat Connin. House Reed ruled over Moat Cailin in times of peace and allowed the Freed Slaves to live in the Northern part of the Neck.

\- In 6100 AL the Valyrian colony of Volon Therys went to war with the Rhoynish City-State Sar Mell.

This was the First Turtle War, it kicked off a series of wars between the Valyrians and the Rhoynish that climaxed when Garin the Great, Prince of Chroyane led 250'000 Rhoynish to their deaths. Princess Nymeria of Ny Sar led the surviving Rhoynaish into exile upon ten thousand ships.

Nymeria and her fleet made landfall near Greenguard in 6300 AL and met with House Briar. Dutifully, Magnar Briar sent a message to King Vorian Dayne; by the time King Dayne arrived Magnar Briar was married to Nymeria of the Rhoyne. This marriage would cause tension between Briar and Dayne for many centuries to come.

Nymeria negotiated for her lifelong friend and distant cousin, Lady Nesira, to be given the rule of land along the Greenblood. She became Lady Nesira Nysar, she married the 3rd son of King Vorian, Prince Davos Dayne. Her keep, Chroytide, was built with a mixture of Rhoynish and First Men architecture and attracted many Rhoynish who'd come to call Dorne home.

\- At the height of its power the Freehold was a massive empire with control over nearly half the known world. That power would be the key to their own destruction.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for everyone's support, I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

 **Some of the fanfics that inspired me:**

 **Robb Returns by Dark Scribbler (Fanfic dot net)**

 **The Many Sons of Winter by CaekDaemon (Ao3)**

 **The Winter Empire by Freakdogsflare (Fanfic dot net)**

 **Reign of Winter by Boyish Void (Fanfic dot net)**


	5. 3000-3350 AL

**3000 - 3350 AL: The Second River War**

\- The Andals in Westeros had nearly completely assimilated.

Knighthood had only spread to the Reach, Dorne and Westerlands.

Any worship of the Seven Who Are One was in decline.

Surprisingly the Andal language, Andol, found widespread use as a trade language since the various dialects of Old Tongue varied wildly across Westeros.

Andal construction knowledge finally began spreading outside of the North, different varieties of forts and keeps began cropping up.

\- Population growth and increased trade demanded more resources for much of Westeros.

Dorne, with the help of the newly arrived Rhoynish, began using water magic to irrigate larger farms and gardens along the Greenblood. While the Dayne's negotiated for the rights to farm some of the Reach lands near Sunflower Hall.

The Reach began lessening the amount of food being exported to other kingdoms. Of course with Dorne and the Westerlands being their neighbours trade remained relatively the same.

The Westerlands began fortifying and subtly expanding their influence in the Riverlands, edging further East.

The Stormlands chose to strengthen their influence on the Blackwater Rush, putting men and resources north and northwest of the Redwood.

The Vale similarly began populating the trident and the various Forks, bringing the Riverland Magnars further into the fold politically and economically.

The North collaborated with the Vale to share the farmlands of the Riverlands that connected their borders and also ensured that fishing and hunting rights were fairly distributed.

\- 3030 AL saw the unofficial start of the Second River Wars.

A group of settlers from House Bosun, (Magnars of Seagard) had begun building a settlement, named Taford, on the eastern tip of the Whispering Wood.

That same year they encountered another group of settlers from House Tully, a vassal of the former Andal Kings House Vance, who'd settled on the southern edge of the Whispering Woods in their own village called Redhut.

For 2 or 3 years their relations were relatively calm, with occasional trading; it helped they had to share a Godswood.

The trouble began when a hunter from Redhut was found dead in the Whispering Wood. The hunter's family claimed he was killed by a tanner from Taford who the dead hunter had been cheated by.

A group of men came to Taford to take the tanner, it ended in a huge brawl between the two towns. The tanner was killed in the fight.

Redhut sent word to Riverrun, men from House Tully arrived with a Tully cousin to settle the dispute. Upon realising that Taford paid tribute to the North, The Tully decreed that Taford would have to pay Redhut and House Tully recompense for the damage they'd caused. Tully men forcefully took a large amount of food and timber then left. They would return after a Moon to collect again only to come face to face with Northmen armed for war.

Magnar Bosun sent a garrison of men to guard Taford from further "collections". The Tully men were turned away but both groups kept a strict watch on the roads and river, waiting for the other side to commit some treachery.

In 3035 AL, House Bosun began building a checkpoint across the Red Fork. There they would only allow merchants through if they allowed their best quality goods to be bought by the Northmen. This form of tax started hemorrhaging trade coming to Riverrun from the east.

Predictably this incensed Magnar Tully, who asked House Vance to interfere. House Tully was not afforded much respect due to being a Riverlander House that had never been Kings in their own right. House Vance didn't deem the checkpoint worth their attention and claimed they could nothing since the checkpoint was technically in Northern lands.

Magnar Tully took matters into his own hands and sent men to destroy the checkpoint under the cover of night. Their task ended with a small skirmish with casualties on both sides.

\- With the failed burning of the checkpoint, Magnar Bosun rode down to Riverrun to confront Magnar Tully.

The Bosun's arrived, were given guest rights and then met with the Tullys.

The negotiation wasn't over who was in the wrong for the checkpoint, it had shifted to be about who had the right to the land north of the Red Fork and the Whispering Wood.

The Bosun believed that since they were sworn to House Reed who were principal bannermen of King Stark, they had a better claim.

House Tully leaned on their historical claim to the area, the Tullys had ruled these lands for centuries, never as anything other than petty lords but they still ruled.

They couldn't come to an agreement and both families left dissatisfied.

Despite the rowdiness nothing came of it and eventually the two villages settled their differences.

\- News of the trouble was sent by messenger to the King of the Rock, Lynoel Lannister.

The Lannisters had put down more than one rebellion since they came to power. Their friendship with the Gardener Kings had served them well, though it took quite a bit of gold and promises to secure it.

Their trouble securing their lands could be directly linked to the Starks, who had reacted extremely badly to the fall of the Casterlys. They had sponsored or supported more than one Magnar's uprising against the Lannisters and made trading with the North more costly with various taxes and laws.

Seeing an opportunity to assert his family's dominance and shed some Stark blood, King Lyonel called his banners and ordered them to muster at Wayfarer's Rest, the seat of House Vance. He claimed the incident at the Whispering Wood was evidence that the North had eyes on the Riverlands.

\- Word of course reached House Reed and through them King Karls Stark, who likewise called his banners to muster at Moat Cailin, eager for an excuse to perhaps weaken the Lannisters.

King Karls also contacted King Royce, who mustered men to begin a watch on the western Riverlands, alert for any hostilities spilling over.

King Karls marched his forces down to The Giant's Bridge and sent outriders to try and discover the Westerlands movement.

His scouts witnessed the sacking of a number of farms and towns from the Red Fork and the Westerlands troops moving north towards the Blue Fork.

King Karls also learned that King Lyonel had laid the foundation for a fort and new bridge on the Red Fork.

\- King Stark splits his forces, he fortified the ruin of Oldstones and the keep at Fairmarket. From there he began leading forays, though he was unable to safely cross the Red Fork.

While he butted heads with the Lannister armies, he sent a sizeable force under the command of his second son Prince Karlon by boat down the Green Fork to the Trident. From there they attacked both Stone Hedge and Raventree Hall, which were vulnerable as Magnar Blackwood and Bracken had answered Magnar Vance's call to arms.

King Lyonel ordered his men do something similar, by raiding up the Green Fork.

With both armies now divided, the battles became sparser as the months dragged on, neither side gaining an edge. The raiders sent behind enemy lines were also stymied by troops sent to protect their respective territories.

\- The war afforded the Stormlands and Vale a unique opportunity.

King Arlan I Durrandon decided to push back against the Reach and began seeding the land west of the Redwood. Giving the land to one of his oldest Hammers, making him Magnar Cafferan of Fawnton. He then subjugated a number of Riverlords who formerly swore allegiance to the Casterlys, many changed allegiance willingly now that the Lannisters ruled. Expanding the Stormlands north above Tumbleton.

King Yaren Royce heeded King Karls' advice and kept informed of the goings on in the western Riverlands. Seeing a chance to capitalize on his allies conflict with the Westerlands, King Royce sent men to occupy lands west of the God's Eye under the pretense of "Protecting the Isle of Faces from harm".

\- King Lyonel wanted to avoid withdrawing from his battle with the North except he couldn't spare enough men to push out the Vale and Stormlands. He called on the Gardeners to solve his problems.

King Garth X Gardener seriously considered marching to the aid of the Lannisters, Garth X and his predecessors had used the Lannister coup to entrench themselves in the politics of the Westerlands. Ostensibly, they wanted to eventually subsume the Westerlands into the Reach and rule as Kings of both lands. The weakening of Lannister force and free reign to position troops in the Westerlands and curry favour with the Magnars would open the door to a future conquest.

When Magnar Footly of Tumbleton came before the Oaken throne and asked the King to do something about the creeping Stormland presence, King Garth dismissed him as a coward afraid of nothing. That same day King Garth declared the Reach would prepare to march on the Riverlands to aid King Lannister.

House Oakheart and Redwyne both objected to this, seeing the Stormlands as the more prevalent and worthy foe. A fair number of Magnars felt neglected by the Gardener's focus on the Westerlands and that resentment had been building for centuries. Many worried that by joining the 2 kingdoms their own power would be diminished.

King Garth X was shocked when no Oakheart or Redwyne levies marched to join his army, neither did a number of other Houses. All in all, King Garth was missing nearly a ⅓ of his warriors.

Summons for the missing Magnars to come explain themselves went unanswered, food shipments and tribute from the two vassals also went unaccounted for.

\- Garth X sent his kinsmen, Magnar Rowan the Marshal of the Northmarch, to bring Magnar Oakheart to Highgarden. He also sent his friend Magnar Florent to do the same for the Redwynes.

Magnar Rowan was attacked while travelling the Ocean Road and open battle started between the Houses of the Northern Reach.

Magnar Florent was ambushed at sea in the Redwyne Straits, he lost an arm fighting off borders and was taken prisoner by the Redwynes who sent out their fleet to blockade the mouth of the Mander.

Both Oakheart and Redwyne made their declaration of rebellion, declaring that the Gardeners had lost the right to hold the Oakenseat. They named King Garth X, "Lion Lover" and said he was more in enamoured with Lannister Gold than his own wife.

Garth X abandoned his plans to help the Lannisters and shifted his focus to keeping his crown.

\- Supply lines provided by the Vale allowed King Karls to reliable spread his army further south.

Prince Karlon and his father attacked the Lannister fort from both sides of the Red Fork, with the young Prince capturing the commander personally.

Said commander was Prince Leo Lannister, King Lyonel's brother. Who knelt before King Stark in the middle of the fort, in front of his men and surrendered. Prince Leo was taken hostage and sent back to Moat Cailin for the remainder of the war while the Fort gained a name, "Keep of the Kneeling Man".

\- King Karls and King Lyonel, through intermediaries, begin discussing the ransoming of Prince Leo.

King Karls demands the Lannisters forfeit Riverrun and all the lands east of it.

Lyonel became frustrated by his lack of leverage in the negotiations.

The two kings were unable to come to an agreement and hostilities continued.

\- King Lyonel implored the Kingdom of Dorne for aid in his war, promising a betrothal and extremely favourable rewards.

Intrigued, Queen Vala Dayne sent a force led by Magnar Blackmont.

The Dornish reinforcements were used by King Lyonel to push back the Valeman near the God's Eye, Tying up their supplies and limiting their ability to support the North.

This mixed force attacked a group of Northmen returning to the main army, their battle spilled into a nearby Giant Clan's farmland, in the confusion two of the Giants were killed. This caused the Giant Clan and its sister Clan in the Neck to send warriors to help the North end the conflict, to avoid another such incident.

\- With Giants acting as a form of artillery, King Karls was able to quickly siege Riverrun and send his sons to do the same to Pink Maiden.

Part of the Dornish garrison at Pink Maiden were captured and ransomed by Queen Dayne. One of them returned to his father, a prominent scholar and engineer with tales of the Giant Archers.

His memories and sketches lead to the development of a new weapon, which was dubbed The Scorpion. It was an attempt to replicate the immensely powerful bows used by the Giants.

\- The Siege of Riverrun took place in 3038 AL, at the start of 3039 AL the North and Vale had a solid hold on the Westerlands former territory. The Stormlands were making themselves at home in the Southern Riverlands and keeping a close watch on the Reach for the outcome of the ongoing rebellion.

\- Winter came in 3040 AL and the war for the Riverlands was put on hold. Both Kings and the bulk of their armies retreated and dug in for the season. As was tradition, all the Kingdoms sent extra supplies and men to the Wall before the snows fell.

\- 2 years passed before Westeros saw Spring again.

King Karls granted his youngest son Prince Karlon his own land and the right to found a cadet branch, the Karstarks.

Magnar Blackwood pledged allegiance to King Royce and became the Vale's principal bannerman in the Riverlands. Magnar Bracken did the same with King Stark. Their rivalry would continue.

Magnar Tully and his family were held hostage at Winterfell for the duration of the winter while House Ryger of Willow Wood were named stewards.

King Lannister retreated to lick his wounds. His position was fragile, only the harshness of winter kept his kingdom stable.

The icy winds paused the Red-Oak Rebellion and gave Garth X a chance to breathe. He spent the winter planning for his Spring offensive. A knight in his court, Ser Osmund Tyrell made himself a trusted counselor and was appointed as Steward by his King. When the roads cleared the Tyrells sallied forth as the Gardener's right-hand men.

Dorne spent the winter in a tense position. During the cold season Queen Vala Dayne died of sickness leaving no heirs but her younger siblings. The succession would have normally gone to the next eldest child but in this case Queen Vala's younger siblings were twins. War in the middle of winter was impossible and so the Dayne's engaged in a literal "cold war", planning and bargaining for allies to make their claim come Summer. It would all be for naught when both heirs succumbed to the same sickness as Vala. The crown would fall to the youngest Dayne child, Princess Valary Dayne.

The Stormlands experienced a prosperous time that wasn't dampened by the snow. Their lack of armed conflict meant, they were able to make a profit selling their excess supplies to the North and Vale. King Arlan I Durrandon became known as the "Avenger", for his reclamation of old land.

\- The first battle of the new Spring was not against the Direwolf as King Lyonel predicted. It was a desperate defense against Ironborn raids on their coast.

The Crag and the Banefort were both sacked. When the raiders were driven off, the Westerlands fleet was intercepted by Northern ships.

House Greyiron had been deposed and replaced by House Hoare. King Harras Hoare was determined to establish fruitful ties with the North and came to an agreement with the Starks. The Iron Islands were free to raid and conquer any land south of the Neck, but would agree to not fight the North or the Vale.

King Harras Stump-Hand would gain huge amount of support for leading the first raids against both the Westerlands and later the Reach.

\- The Second River War is said to have "paused" in 3042 AL, neither side keen on gaining or potentially losing more ground. Westeros fell into a tense period, each Kingdom was experiencing dilemmas or a planning for other, more fruitful, conquests.

King Lyonel was forced to fortify the Westerlands and spend his remaining years defending her lands from Ironborn and Northern raids.

King Karls gained a passion for books and became determined to create a great library in Winterfell. He visited his ally, King Royce, and the ancient libraries at Runestone and Moonseat.

King Garth X spent years fighting but eventually defeated the Red-Oak Rebellion and took a Tyrell for a wife as a reward to his Steward.

The Riverlanders themselves hoped to avoid reigniting hostilities as the lands healed.

\- Green Man Edmond's seminal work _Black Rivers: Conflict in the Riverlands_ says the Second River War reignited in 3260 AL.

\- In an effort to stave off Ironborn raiding, King Leos Lannister (King Lyonel's descendant) married his sister to the Ironborn King, Harmund II "The Haggler".

She became Queen Lelia Hoare and her eldest son, Harmond III "The Handsome" would ascend to the throne and attempt to outlaw reaving and the taking of salt wives. He was ousted by a rebellion, which left him imprisoned and his mother, Lelia Lannister, was sent back to Casterly Rock with her ears, lips eyelids and tongue removed.

King Harmund "The Handsome" was replaced by his brother King Hagon "The Heartless".

Outraged Lelia's nephew, King Leos II Lannister, responded by invading the Iron Islands.

A year of bitter fighting ended when Ser Aubrey Crakehall defeated Hagon's army and captured Hoare Castle on the island of Great Wyk. Hagon was mutilated and hanged for his crimes. Harmund "The Handsome" was found in Great Wyk's dungeon, he was a broken man, Ser Aubrey chose to give him the gift of mercy.

The Iron Islands were now in the grasp of the Westerlands, or more specifically Ser Aubrey who began planning to declare himself King of the Iron Islands.

Ser Aubrey dreams of grandeur were cut short when the Northern Fleet launched a surprise attack on the Westerland army moored on Great Wyk. They'd been given shelter by Magnar Harlaw and Ironborn navigators guided them through the waters in the dead of night. The North's attack bolstered other Ironborn to rise up, the Westerland army was slaughtered or imprisoned to a man.

As order was restored across the islands, King Rickard II, "The Green King", summoned the Ironborn Magnars to hold a Kingsmoot. King Rickard stood beside Magnar Harlaw who made allies with both Magnar Greyjoy and Magnar Goodbrother. The Kingsmoot was the first in centuries and was administered by Green Men, the Magnars were told the Shrike along with most of the Priests of the Drowned God were killed by Ser Aubry.

Erich V Harlaw was elected King of the Iron Islands. He married the daughter of Magnar Greyjoy and would eventually betroth his son to King Rickard's daughter.

Erich V retained the North's support by conquering Fair Isle and holding it. Establishing a strong base to raid the Reach and Westerlands from.

Under Erich V, the number of Drowned Priests grew back slowly, suspiciously slow some said.

Even though his family was often seen consulting a Drowned Priest, the more perceptive Houses also noticed the Godswood that now grew on Great Wyk, Pyke and Harlaw. Green Men accompanied the many Northern traders and visitors. The Northern dialect became more prevalent as more and more men took Northern women as their wives to improve their trading, commerce was becoming nearly as profitable as raiding.

Ironborn ships became frequent visitors to Essos and the various ports there, even die-hard reavers began looking to the rich pirate havens and Valyrian merchant ships for their treasure.

\- The Ironborn and the North were closer than ever, this gave King Rickard II the freedom to make another push in the Riverlands.

From Pinkmaiden, Magnar Greystark sallied south taking control any minor keeps that still held allegiance to the Lannisters. Their advance was halted by Ser Joffrey Lydden, the heir of Deep Den. His family was hosting King Leos II Lannister when Magnar Greystark marched south.

The Northmen were defeated at the Battle of Rockrush, Ser Lydden lead his army through the mountains near Deep Den and attacked the Northern forces as they passed by, ambushing them after emerging from the collection of waterfalls nearby.

Ser Joffrey saved King Leos from death more than once on the battlefield and successfully routed the Northern army. In return King Leos appointed Joffrey to the King's Council as one of his Marshals.

Ser Joffrey would go on to marry King Leos' only child, and be crowned King Joffrey Lannister only 2 years later.

\- King Gyles IV Gardener visited King Joffrey and the two devised a plan.

A combined force marched from Deep Den and Stonebridge and simultaneously attacked the Stormland and Vale forces occupying their bordering territory.

The Vale was pushed back north when Magnar Serrett captured the Holdfast of Briarkeep, near the God's Eye. The Stormlanders were pushed east after Fawnton was sacked by Ser Owen Merryweather "The Feasting Knight".

The 4 Kingdoms would fight over this territory for another 5 years, with Winter finally breaking the fighting.

\- The last battle of The Second River War, in 3290 AL, was the culmination of an intense campaign led by King Walton Stark and King Robyn II Royce.

The two ambitious young men dreamed of storming The Rock, dining in its halls and looting its ancient vaults. They'd nearly razed Wayfarer's Rest, managed to take the Golden Tooth with the aid of Casterly loyalist, and finally camped within view of Casterly Rock.

Queen Madeline Gardener ordered a force march to the Lannister's aid, the men would arrive too late to break the siege. They were mysteriously delayed while travelling through Crake Wood.

"The Golden Siege" lasted 3 months until the Lannister King was captured by sentries, he was attempting to sneak out of Casterly Rock by boat. His family surrendered shortly after.

\- Queen Madeline arrived to the Grey Wolf and Bronze Field flying over the huge fortress.

No battle began, the Queen met with the two Kings. Many claimed she seduced the two warrior-kings, others explained it as the Queen appealed to the ancient lineages the 3 royals shared and cited the prophecy of the Second Long Night as a reason to end the war.

Speculation aside, the Second River War was ended by Queen Madeline marrying her distant cousin, the extremely popular war-hero Magnar Quince Banefort, crowning him King Quince I. Both of them carried Casterly and Gardener blood, the marriage unified the Reach and Westerlands under one dynasty.

To signify the new royal line, Madeline and Quince took on a new name and heraldry. They became House Castegard, their sigil was a red hand bearing a white lion on its palm upon a white field, their words: "The Greatest Seed Bears Gold".

\- The unification of the two western kingdoms ended hostilities over the Riverlands and soon trade was reopened.

With the Lannisters relegated to being the rulers of Lannisport, the Starks' main cause for war was gone. They and the Vale decided to consolidate their holdings in the Riverlands to ensure it would be a challenge to retake in the future.

The Stormlands now put a hold on further conflict, cautious of the Reach's new military strength. Their territory in the Riverlands gave them access to what was slowly becoming the central hub of Westeros. King Arlan III Durrandon courted a daughter of House Reed and through that connection became a friend of King Walton Stark.

\- As a sign of goodwill with the North, King Arlan III offered to jointly pay for a mighty fortress designed by architects from both Kingdoms. The Keep, Weirthrone, wasn't finished until King Arlan's grandson was born. It was built on the eastern shore of the God's Eye, its construction blessed and overseen by Green Men.

\- Kings Stark and Durrandon held a grand tourney there to mark its completion, Magnars and Knights from all corners of Westeros arrived to heal the wounds from the River War.

Many contests and competitions were held, the winners received rare and exotic gifts supplied by the various Houses in attendance.

House Stark, for the Wrestling, offered an entire herd of cattle and enough food to fill a castle's larder.

House Royce, for the Horse Races, offered the pick of Moonseat's breeding stock and a skilled Horse Master's service for 10 years.

House Durrandon, for the Melee, offered a hundred flawless swords, 100 suits of armour and 100 spears of the finest quality made by the smiths of Storm's End.

House Gardener of Highgarden, for the Archery, offered a shipful of spices and valuables from Essos.

House Castegard, for the Duels, offered the winner a small parcel of land and the funds for a small keep near The Red Lake.

A dozen men and some woman earned fame for their exploits. Champions from all Kingdoms arose. On the final day, the 5 prizes for the major events were handed out.

Ser Eddard Tully won the wrestling competition by defeating Eddard Manderly. Ser Eddard "Tall Trout" Tully was awarded the Stark supplies, a fine set of cloth and silver from House Vance and a betrothal to a daughter of House Mormont of Lonefort. Eddard Tully would begin working to reestablish his House's reputation and power.

Yara Redrow, a bastard of House Royce of Runestone, won the Horse Race. She took some of Mooneseat's finest mares and stallions, married the Horse Master and used the gold she won from the Lannisters to begin a famous horse farm in the Stormlands. Redrow Horses would become a legendary name in the coming centuries.

Michan of House Crane won the melee to the surprise of many, a Reachman was not expected to win. Michan took the arms of the Durrandons, the grain of the Selmys and entered the service of Magnar Fowler as a knight. He would eventually become the Regent for the Magnar's children and defended their claim against some rebellious cousins. He would gain the moniker "The Princely Knight".

Barrick Tarly won the Archery Competition, he took the spices and silks of the Gardeners, a ship from the Redwyne's and started a sellsword company. Inspired by the tales of Barden the Brave, Barrick would lead his "Red Men" for many years before dying in a Dothraki raid.

A Mystery Knight won the Duels, they bore a face concealing helmet, their sigil was 2 white stars on opposite sides of broken white sword, upon a field of dark gold. He earned the name "The Star Knight", he wielded a Dornish sword and fought like a demon. Many anticipated the match between the Star Knight and The Sword of the Morning, Arin Dayne (though when asked Arin seemed nervous). The final rounds of the Duels saw the much awaited match begin. The Star Knight and The Sword of the Morning were evenly matched, many believe the match was ended when Dawn cleaved through the Star Knight's blade. Instead his opponent called for his squire, a young peasant boy to bring his sword, or "burden" as he called it. The squire brought forth a greatsword of equal length to Dawn with a similar hilt, once drawn it even reflected light in the same mystical way. This blade did not break beneath the Dayne's ancestral sword, it matched it blow for blow. Ten more minutes past before King Dayne called for the match to end, the competitors refused and had to be separated physically. The Kings and Queens decided to judge the winner of the competition. Of the 9 royals in attendance, 6 voted for the Star Knight, 4 for the Sword of the Morning. Queen Madeline bid the Star Knight to reveal himself,be recognized and rewarded. The knight was an old man, with wrinkles and less teeth than a child, none could believe it, they asked for his name and he answered, "Daryle Starson". Queen Madeline was speechless, the rest of those in attendance were ravenous with their curiosity but no more was said. Daryle was knighted by King Durrandon and given the land promised. The mystery of House Starson and their connection to House Dayne remains an age old mystery. The Starsons would became one of the principal houses sworn to House Castegard.

\- The Weirwood Tourney ended with a grand ceremony where the most pressing question of the entire event would be answered: Who would rule Weirthrone?

Rumors abound of a union between Stark and Durrandon, Stark and Royce, Durrandon and Royce. A loyal house given the right to rule the Riverlands as their own kingdom and more and more theories grew as the days passed.

The many Magnars and their families were invited into the main keep and escorted to a central garden that none had seen before. It was a beautiful Godswood with a small stream that flowed from the God's Eye's own water, though it was missing a Heart Tree. Once settled, the 5 royal families entered, following an extremely tall man in green robes with antlers attached to the hood. The people then noticed nearly 20 Children of the Forest emerge from the various weirwoods and watch the proceedings.

The Green Lord formed the head of a circle, the Kings & Queens completing it. He produced a bowl made of weirwood and passed it around. Each monarch cut their thumb then bled and spit into the bowl. It returned to the Green Lord, an elderly Child stepped into the circle and took the bowl. It drank the mixture then sat down. All at once the Green Men and the Children began singing, quickly the observers joined in. As they sang, the elder Child began turning white, its skin cracked and body hardened; it sank into the ground until only the top of its head was visible and slowly it twisted and stretched into a tiny white sapling. The Green Lord declared "When the Long Night looms, and the Night King walks again. Blood of man and beast shall sow the land. Your line shall be called and here you will crown the Last Son, reborn. He shall lead you through the darkness wearing a crown of steel, a cloak of snow, with fire in his hand. You shall swear now and forever that no Man, Magnar, King or God shall stop you from answering this Call" And so they did.

Weirthrone was to be ruled by House Faehail, started by 2 Green Men, one man and one woman married to Stark and Durrandon blood. Over the centuries they would come to include the blood of all the royal families and various other Houses. They were never rich or powerful but their proximity to the Isles of Faces, and their duty of guarding "The Last Godswood", gave them protection for all but the most treacherous of enemies.

\- Westeros would remain relatively stable for another 2700 years, reacting and adapting to the growing Valyrian Freehold but never entering direct conflict with them. The fate of Westeros would be forever changed when a group of Dragonriders arrived to colonise islands in The Gullet.


	6. 6300-6706 AL

**6400-6500 AL - "Lord of the Tide"**

\- A calm day in 6400 AL brought a fleet of ships smoothly into the Gullet.

These ships were made from bright red wood, with ornate black and gold metal. Their hulls and prows were adorned with images of dragons and mountains, sailed by men and women of ethereal beauty with silver hair.

The fleet anchored off the sparsely populated island of Driftmark. A landing party consisting of soldiers and sailors quickly overwhelmed the few fishing towns on the island. The elders were brought to the Valyrians and questioned. After ascertaining that no Kings had a strong interest in the islands, the Valyrian Captain claimed ownership of Driftmark and began building a seat to rule from.

The Valyrians found it hard to establish control of the Gullet, let alone Blackwater Bay. Traders sailing to Duskendale got annoyed and angry at their attempts at taxation. Many begin shifting their routes north to Gulltown or Heartsport and south to Stonedance and Parchments.

Frustrated, the King of Driftmark sent a force to conquer the Claw Isle, led by Lord Celtigar. They battled the forces of Ser Crabb the Warden of the Whispers (essentially a Magnar sworn to The Green Man of Heartsport), lost, and were driven off the island.

Unfazed, the Valyrians began making overtures to Magnar Massey and Magnar Bar Emmon of Sharpe Point. Soon the King of Driftmark was called "King Velaryon".

King Velaryon left the Godswood and Green Men of Driftmark to their own devices, he sent his Magisters to speak with them after learning nearly all Magnars in Westeros kept a Green Man close either as a healer, teacher or a myriad of other roles. He offered to pay them to teach some of his servants the Old Tongue, surprisingly they offered to do so with the condition that any they taught be freed from slavery and that the worship of the Old Gods was untouched.

King Velaryon learned this was the Green Men's price for service everywhere, if a noble endangered or harmed the sacred sights of the Old Gods they would lose the blessings of the Green Men, often a death knell for their rule.

The Velaryons eventually intermarried with the local population, and though they kept to the Valyrian Gods, local festivals and customs crept into their traditions to better connect with their people. They used their connections to the Freehold to give merchants in their service special rights when travelling Essos, even a minor family like the Velaryons held greater sway than many of the non-Valyrian lords to the east.

With no progress on the colonisation of Claw Isle, the Velaryons turned their attention to the volcanic island neighbouring Driftmark. Cousins of the Velaryons arrived from the Freehold and began building a castle, though it would be nothing special until true Dragonlords took ownership a century later.

* * *

 **6578-6590 AL "The Dragon Nests"**

\- In 6588, Lord Aenar Targaryen announced to the Valyrian Council (the ruling council of the Freehold comprised of the forty Dragon-riding families) that he and his family would be leaving for Westeros.

The Targaryens were not one of the most powerful houses but Lord Aenar's decision, fueled by his daughter Daenys' visions of a great cataclysm, drew ridicule and accusations of cowardice from their political rivals.

Regardless, Lord Aenar sold his estates, took all his wealth, family, slaves, their 5 dragons, and made his way west. Stopping at the island of Dragonstone.

By virtue of their dragons, House Targaryen simply ordered King Velaryon to cede the island to them. The Targaryens made quick work of creating a truly awe-inspiring fortress overtop the modest work of the Velaryons. For the first time, Dragons darkened the skies of Westeros.

The relative isolation of Dragonstone kept the Targaryen's dragons out of sight and free to hunt the many large fish and occasional whale that lived in Blackwater Bay, though the occasional herd on the mainland did go missing.

\- Word of the dragons and their riders spread to the Vale and Stormlands, prompting Lord Aenar's niece and nephew to visit the mainland upon one of their families dragons.

Being followed by a shipful of soldiers and servants, the siblings flew south to Sharpe Point before going south.

Bypassing Haystack Hall they went directly to Bronzegate and were treated as honoured guests by Magnar Buckler. At the end of their welcome feast Magnar Buckler instructed the Targaryens to send their household to one of the sentinel towers outside of the castle. Naturally the Targaryens were curious as to why their servants could not rest inside the walls, they got their answer from Bronzegate's Green Man, a woman called Wylla. Magnar Buckler could not house slaves under his roof, it was against the laws of the Old Gods. The Targaryens, though slavers they may be, had been given guests rights. This was a shock to the Targaryens, there were no Green Men on Dragonstone so the issue of slavery hadn't come up. The Velaryons had few slaves to begin with and by the time the Targaryens arrived most had been freed, or had children who were freed.

Bronzegate hosted the Dragonlords for an entire week, Magnar Buckler sent a message to King Durrandon on the 2nd day. The King's reply included an invitation for the Valyrians to visit Storm's End.

King Durrandon held a grand feast during the Targaryen's stay. They ensured their dragon was kept outside of the castle and away from the festivities. Nevertheless, at his request the two siblings allowed the King, his council and his personal guards to view their dragon in private.

The tales say King Durrandon went pale and nearly fainted and after the Targaryens left he was overheard telling his son, "That was no wild beast to hunt. These silver-haired princes call themselves masters but what I saw was a creature that cannot be tamed. I do not think even Storm's End could weather the wrath of a dragon."

The Targaryen siblings returned to Dragonstone with stories and information for their uncle. It's unknown what Lord Aenar thought of the kingdoms he was now neighbour to, by all accounts he seemed satisfied with spending his days on Dragonstone dealing with what little influence he still had in the Freehold.

\- Dragonstone would remain isolated and private, with rare forays by their members creating rumors wherever they went.

* * *

 **6590-6700 AL "Doom of Valyria & The Century of Blood"**

\- 12 years to the day after the Targaryens went into exile, Daenys "The Dreamer" awakened to the bellows of dragons.

The entire household was startled by the sudden cries of their dragons. The 5 Targaryen dragons flew to Dragonmont, the island's volcano and stayed there for 3 days and nights.

Lord Aenar, worried over the implications, sent an emissary to Valyria to seek advice from the other Dragonlords. The ship came back not even a month later, the crew turned back once they reached Antos. The Doom had been visible from cities as far away as Myr, Valyria's destruction was known throughout the world within a few months.

\- The destruction of the Freehold set off a century of warfare in Essos.

The surviving Dragonlords either died to infighting, or disappeared when they tried to visit the ruins of Valyria.

Volantis emerged first, declaring themselves the successors of Valyria and proceeded to take control of Lys, while holding territory including the Southern Rhoyne. When Volantis attempted to conquer Myr and Tyrosh as well, they met resistance from the other former-colonies, the Andals and the newly revealed Braavos.

Dothraki hordes burst out of the Great Grass Sea, bringing death to many kingdoms and cities the Valyrians had kept safe for so long.

\- It didn't take long after The Doom, for King Mors II Martell to declare himself King of the Seven Hills, and lead a new independant Andal Kingdom.

From the capital of Antos, the Andals would expand north and east. Creating borders with Braavos and Norvos.

They also laid claim to Myr as their vassal and fought the Volantenes when they tried to take her.

\- Volantis was pushed back for when:

Tyrosh received outside aid to rebel against Volantis.

The Andals and Dothraki cut out deep chunks of their territory.

Norvos and Qohor destroyed the Volantis ships occupying the Rhoyne.

King Argilac Durrandon led a host against a Volantenes army in the Disputed Land.

Aegon Targaryen was persuaded to fly to Lys and burn the large Volantis army gathering there.

A political turnover in Volantis itself ended the wars of aggression.

* * *

 **6704-6706 AL "Aegon's Conquest"**

\- Returning from Lys the young lord of Dragonstone, Aegon Targaryen, received an offer from King Argilac "The Arrogant".

Argilac offered Aegon the hand of his daughter, Argella, in exchange for Aegon's aid in conquering the Reach.

Aegon refused and instead offered the hand of his best friend and rumored bastard brother, Orys Baratheon. Argilac took this as a grave insult and had the hands of the envoy cut off. He sent them to Aegon with the message "These are the only hands you will receive".

Predictably, Aegon called his banners and sent a message to the rulers of Westeros. He stated that he would be the only King of Westeros and any that bent the knee would keep their lands and titles, those who refused would die.

\- Aegon began his war by burning Stagdam, the keep that had been built over Hammer's Hold.

In its place he began constructing the Aegonfort.

The nearby keeps of Rosby and Stokeworth surrendered after showcases of strength from the Targaryens.

\- Aegon's first test came from Magnar Darklyn and Magnar Buckler.

Both men marched hastily assembled armies to pin Aegon in between them, so King Argilac could have more time to rouse the Stormlands.

Orys Baratheon and Visenya attacked the Darklyns, while Aegon and Rhaenys met the Bucklers. Both armies are defeated; Jon Darklyn, the son of Magnar Darklyn survives and surrenders, Magnar Buckler retreats to Bronzegate after losing more than half his men.

Afterwards, Queen Visenya placed a Valyrian Steel circlet upon Aegon's head and named him "Aegon, first of his name, King of All Westeros, and Shield of His People."

\- Aegon planned to send a force to take Gulltown and cut off the Vale, but had to delay in order to prepare for King Argilac's counter attack.

Attempting to head off Argilac's advance, Aegon marched on Bronzegate and demanded their surrender. Buckler's response is not known, whatever he said was enough to push Aegon into a fury. He mounted Belarion and burnt Bronzegate with fire so hot that the castle's gate cracked and melted.

When the fire subsided the next morning, the few survivors climbed out of the ruins and were captured.

"The Burning of Bronzegate" motivated Argilac to meet Aegon in the open field, confident in his well-trained foot and powerful archers would be the Dragon Rider's undoing.

\- Fortifying the hills south of Bronzegate, Aegon and Orys prepared for the Storm King's charge.

Argilac brought the full might of the Stormlands against the Valyrian conqueror. Aegon was outnumbered 2 to 1 and the freshly loyal troops could not be relied on to hold the line.

A massive storm broke out as the armies approached each other, giving the battle the name "The Last Storm".

The rain made havoc for the Stormland cavalry and the high winds threw off the aim of the archers. It was the foot soldiers of Argilac's army that were most effective.

Argilac failed 2 charges into Aegon's flank, his 3rd attempt looked to finally succeed when out of the thunderclouds came the shadow of Belarion the Black Dread. Argilac and his cavalry were burned alive, their swords melting even under the heavy rain.

Though Aegon was victorious, he took massive casualties on the front line. He couldn't afford to waste more troops in a siege. Orys, Visenya and Aegon made straight for Storm's End.

\- At Storm's End, Argela Durrandon declared herself Storm Queen and barred Storm's End, prepared for a siege rather than compliance.

Fearing a repeat of Bronzegate's Burning, her garrison plotted to betray her. She and her Hammers managed to arrest the conspirators before Aegon's arrival.

A Green Man greeted Aegon in front of Storm's End, she passed on the terms for Argela's surrender; Aegon must agree to duel one of her Hammers to the death.

Frustrated, Aegon nearly decided to simply burn Storm's End but was stopped by Orys who pointed out Aegon wanted to unite Westeros, not burn it to the ground. His Magnars, who he insists on calling Lords, were not impressed by his decline of the challenge.

Visenya offered to fight in Aegon's stead and dueled Dickon Morrigan. Visenya was victorious (Targaryen detractors say only because of her sword, Dark Sister). She killed Dickon and fed his corpse to her dragon Vhagar.

Bound by her oath, Argela bent the knee to Aegon who declared she would marry Orys Baratheon. She agreed to the match but refused to relinquish her name. Aegon, eager to continue the conquest, compromised and named his friend Orys, Lord Paramount of the Stormlands.

\- His time in the Stormlands, though fruitful, left Aegon in a weak position.

A strong Arryn fleet, supported by ships from Braavos and Andalos now guarded Gulltown.

King Allad Royce began mustering an army at Moonseat and another at Darry.

King Torrhen Stark began his own march and increased the call-to-arms when it became known that Aegon had conquered the Stormlands.

The Burning of Bronzegate had spurned the Reachlands into action. King Loren Castegard and Magnar Mern Gardener planned to march with 80'000 men, the largest single army ever assembled in Westeros.

King Joffen Dayne ordered the Prince's Pass and The Bone Way garrisoned, he sent for the brightest minds in Dorne, Maester's from Oldtown, and the most skilled Rhoynish Water Mages to assemble at Starfall. Ultimately, these brilliant minds would suggest many solutions to the dragon problem but little weapons of use were produced.

\- Returning to Aegonfort, the Targaryen rulers held a council with their new Lords to discuss the next step of the conquest.

Aegon ordered his navy, supported by Visenya, to attack Gulltown. While his navy was occupied, Aegon and Rhaenys moved into the Riverlands.

The Stormland Lords were concerned when Aegon laid out his route. He planned to move first to Heartsport and gain Crackclaw Point's submission before moving west to the God's Eye. Lord Selmy told the Conqueror that Heartsport owed no King loyalty, it answered to the Green Men of the Isle of Faces. This incensed Visenya and Rhaenys, both believed an autonomous region could not exist in the kingdom Aegon envisioned. Lord Selmy stated plainly that if the Targaryens marched on either Heartsport or Weirthrone, no First Men would go with him.

Until this point the Targaryens had no significant interaction with Green Men, he'd seen them in his travels but had never spoken with them or visited a Godswood. Ending the argument, Aegon decided he would follow the Blackwater Rush and take control of the Western Riverlands, then visit the Isle of Faces himself. The Green Men would submit or burn.

\- The Targaryen Navy was destroyed in the Battle of Gulltown, though the Vale Fleet suffered heavy losses from Vhagar. Visenya was wounded when a number of eagles attacked her in her saddle. Her eye was nearly clawed out and one of her fingers was bit off. She returned to Aegonfort wounded, no one knows how her brother-husband reacted to this.

\- Aegon marched on regardless, he defeated a few Petty Lords and held most of the Blackwater Rush. His army rested at the town of Stony Sept, one of the few places where worship of the Seven was a majority.

An envoy from Edmyn Tully met with Aegon. The Tullys were willing to declare for Aegon and rebel against the First Men Kings and begin conquering the Riverlands; on the condition he would name them Lord Paramount of the Trident, Aegon agrees.

A similar message arrived from Lannisport, Lorence Lannister promised he would deliver the Rock and a number of Westerland Lords to Aegon's side in exchange for the dethroning of the Castegards and the title of Paramount. Again, Aegon agreed.

His next priority was to face the Reachlands army that had mustered at Goldengrove.

\- South of The Blackwater Rush, near what would one day become the Golden Road, Aegon's army (a fifth the size of the Reachmen) entrenched themselves.

The Reachland Army spread out and planned to outflank him, while their Knights smashed his center.

The allies' charge began to break the Targaryen spear lines, but Aegon and his sisters took to the air on their dragons, Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar. The dragons began to set the dry field aflame on all sides, especially upwind of the army. Lord Estermont's Targaryen forces were safely upwind, allowing them to finish off any soldiers who emerged from the flame. King Loren rode to safety when he realized Aegon would win the day.

The dragons killed 6,000 men of the combined Reachland army, among them Magnar Mern and many of his kin. (Before marching on Aegon, King Loren ordered Magnar Mern to send back his youngest sons and grandsons back to Highgarden.)

The Orders of the Green Hand and The Rock were wiped out.

Though the fires did significant damage, many of the Magnars were able to rally their troops emboldened by their large numbers. The Targaryens lost another 2,000 troops before Aegon and his sisters descended again and broke their morale for good.

Rhaenys was the Queen injured this time, a flock of arrows struck her dragon and a few managed to hit her. She took an arrow to her knee and shoulder, she would have difficulty walking for the rest of her life.

The most significant damage of the battle came from a trio of Giant Archers that had joined the battle. Many believed their arrows would pierce and kill the dragons, but the great beasts were too quick and when their arrows did hit, the shaft broke. Their arrowheads were big enough to wound the dragons but not enough to drive them off.

The army either surrendered or fled, the victory was once again Aegon's.

\- The Reachlands would not stand against Aegon again.

King Loren Castegard managed to make it to the Rock, only to be detained in his own castle. Lorence Lannister had snuck into the Rock with a band of warriors, with the support of House Westerling they successfully captured the Castegards. Visenya arrived on dragonback and gave Lorence the title of Lord Paramount of the Westerlands.

Aegon arrived at the gates of Highgarden, which were opened for him. Awaiting him were the few surviving Gardeners who willingly bent the knee. Merryn Gardener was named Lord Paramount of the Reach.

The Castegards were stripped of their crown and King Loren was executed. His children were intermarried into the Lannisters and Gardeners.

The Green and Gold Kingdom was not the longest lived in Westeros, but it had been united for over 3000 years and its people were not happy to be seperated. Families, alliances and Houses were split along the new border, breaking up the power of the west.

\- Aegon could not enjoy his victory for long, news arrived that the Vale army had set forth from Darry and sieged Aegonfort.

King Royce would have been joined by the North, but King Torrhen had moved to deal with the Tully rebellion and then had to contend with the Loyalist Westerlands bolstering the Riverlander revolt.

Aegon and a conscripted army of Reachmen went back to Aegonfort, intent on breaking the siege. Aegon had no desire to invade the Vale, instead he sent Visenya to Moonseat.

Aegon called for parley with King Royce, a month later. They met in the shade of the Redwood. King Royce seemed prepared to accept negotiations for a truce. That expectation was shattered when Visenya arrived at the meeting with his son and heir Ronnel Royce. Visenya had flown to Moonseat, bypassing any and all defences and invited Ronnel to fly. The guards could do nothing to stop her from taking the young prince. The Valeman bent his knee and offered his sword to Aegon, his crown was lifted off his head and he arose as the Lord Paramount of the Vale.

\- King Torrhen and his Magnars now faced Aegon without aid.

He beseeched the Giant Clans but none would fight, the few Giants who had fought Aegon had returned with stories of the fire. The Giants would remain neutral. The Green Men were wary of the Dragons as well.

Ordering his army to make for the Trident, King Torrhen and his bastard brother, Brandon Whitewolf, went in secret to the Isle of Faces.

When they landed on the island, they found Aegon Targaryen and his personal guard. Aegon had dreamed of the Isle the night before and flew to The God's Eye on Belarion, leaving the army in the hands of Orys and his wives. Strangely, Belarion refused to cross the water; Aegon was forced to dismount his beast and sail to the Island.

Many say Brandon told his brother he would kill the Targaryen then and there. Brandon Whitewolf was said to have been the most skilled swordsman in the North. His King ordered him to stand down.

With the Burning of Bronzegate and the Field of Fire in mind, Torrhen chose to negotiate with Aegon.

The next day Torrhen crossed the Trident and knelt, becoming Lord of Winterfell and Paramount of the North. Torrhen gained the name "The Lone King".

\- The North's surrender prompted King Vickon Greyjoy to send a ship full of treasure and his daughter as a token of submission to the new King.

\- Officially, King Eddard III Dayne also surrendered to Aegon, based on his friendship with the Reach. The Houses along the Greenblood, including House Briar, rebelled.

King Eddard III Dayne would lead the Loyalist forces in The First Dornish War, until Aegon joined him in 6710 AL.

\- Aegon sought approval from the First Man religion but the Green Lord would not give him any official approval, reasoning that the Old Gods would judge Aegon themselves. Instead, he was given Weirwood seeds and told to plant them in his home.

\- Now in control of six of the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon I Targaryen announced he would rule not from Dragonstone or Oldtown, but from the Aegonfort and the new city growing around it, King's Landing. Aegon had melted the swords of those who had opposed him into the Iron Throne, a reminder of their submission to the Targaryens.

\- He invited his Lord Paramounts to swear their fealty and Rhaenys crowned him "King of Winter & Summer, Rock & Water, Man & Beast, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm."

/

 **A/N: Not sure what the response will be to this chapter. I did a lot of reading, a lot of thinking and rewrote a TON of stuff. When it comes down to it, I just couldn't think of a satisfying way for Aegon to lose. I also wanted to avoid the "invincible north" or "OP First Men" tropes I've read.**

 **Instead, I want to explore how the Targaryen Dynasty fares when their subjects are culturally distinct from them and quite strong in their own right.**

 **In my opinion, the Targaryen's strength came from their dragons which elevated them "above" the squabbling of the other Houses. With the former kingdoms stronger and tied together more closely, I think some events (like the Blackfyre Rebellion) would go very differently.**

 **Let me know what you think. I don't know how I want to proceed from here in terms of format, if I should continue with the timeline or change to a more narrative textbook or journal style.**


	7. 6706-6753 AL

**Legacy of the Conqueror by Oryn Royce**

Following Aegon I's declaration of sovereignty over all of Westeros, he accepted the oaths of loyalty from his new vassals. When King Dayne arrived at the Aegonfort to give up his crown, he also brought to the Conqueror his fears over a war with the Salty and Sandy Dornish. King Aegon promised his support if such a conflict came to pass, the King would have to honour his promise sooner than his council guessed… _pg.22_

The Dornish split, the Houses outside the Red Mountains crowned a Buckler King and he married Princess Nysar. Aegon marched south through the Boneway while the Dayne's came from Prince's Pass. Although the armies found the various keeps deserted and the towns empty of all except the elderly and sick, the Stony Dornish knew these tactics well. They hunted the rebels in the hidden places of the desert or along the coasts. The Loyalists would drive the rebels into the open field where the Targaryens would descend with flame and steel. From Sandstone to Greenguard, all the cities outside of the Red Mountains felt either Dayne blades or dragonfire… _pg.25_

While scouting Hellholt, Queen Rhaenys decided to intimidate the garrison by burning the walls, making her husband's eventual siege easier. Supposedly, a lucky shot from a Scorpion tore through her dragon, Meraxes' eye, killing the beast and the Queen with its fall. To appease the Targaryen's wrath, Lord Dayne and Lord Fowler marched on Hellholt intent on ending the Uller line. They sieged the castle, while Queen Visenya and King Aegon ensured that no supplies or aid could reach the they finally broke through, Lord Fowler fought down to the dungeons and discovered Queen Rhaenys. What state she was in, alive or dead, is unknown. King Aegon left with his wife's body wrapped in his cloak. The skeleton of Meraxes was also recovered. King Aegon spent 3 days and nights burning Hellholt until nothing remained of its walls. The surviving members of House Uller were dragged back to King's Landing and burned alive in front of the Iron Throne… _pg.47_

King Aegon grew frustrated with the war in Dorne. Even with half the country loyal to him, the other half was still raiding the Stormlands and hiding in desert holes even the Daynes couldn't sniff out… _pg.60_

The war continued for 3 years, when Princess Nysar died and her daughter assumed her title. She sued for peace with King Aegon against the wishes of her father, who was later captured by the Yronwoods and executed… _pg.62_

Aegon I revoked the Principality of Nysar and the former-princess was married into House Fowler; her younger brother became Lord Nysar… _pg.66_

In 6748 AL, Aegon I passed away in the fortress of Dragonstone… _pg.144_

King Aenys I was crowned later that month, many people would come to describe the second Targaryen King as an adequate ruler but he lacked the sheer martial might and respect his father commanded; strength and stature his half-brother Maegor would come to possess in spades… _pg.145_

Aeny's reign began with 3 uprising: The 2nd Dornish Rebellion, the Priest-King Lodos' reign on the Iron Islands, and the terror of Garth Blackhand… _pg.145_

The death of Garth Blackhand marked the last of the initial uprisings. It was a mark against the King that the traitors were put down by his Lords with minimal intervention by the Crown. King Aenys was perceived as indecisive and unsure of how to deal with the complex problems his kingdom faced… _pg.180_

Prince Maegor celebrated his second year as Hand of the King in 6745 AL, with the announcement that he would be setting aside his wife Ceryse Hightower, declaring her barren. Lord Hightower was furious and made public declarations against the Hand… Lord Hightower found little support among his peers, who generally agreed with Maegor's assumption that Lady Ceryse was barren. Lord Darry was the one who introduced Prince Maegor to the daughter of his bannerman, Lord Harroway of Harrow Court… _pg.230_

After Maegor's marriage to Alys Harroway, Grand Maester Gawen wrote to Maester Warren in Oldtown of the attempts by King Aenys to convince his brother to set aside his new bride. Maegor refused and Aenys backed down, word spread and the King's standing among his bannerman fell further… _pg.231_

 _Oryn Royce was a 3rd son from Runestone who lived during the rule of Aegon III. He was a life-long scholar and by all accounts he had no desire to join the Maesters. Oryn_ _spent his days as the Castellan of Runestone while writing several classic historical treatises._

* * *

 **Stars and Swords: The Seven in Westeros, Volume 1 by Maester Perce**

In 6720 AL, during the reign of the Conqueror, The Faith of the Seven saw an opportunity to gain power alongside the ascension of the Targaryen Dynasty. The Faithful in Westeros chose their own High Septon and used their good relations with House Hightower to purchase a voyage across the Narrow Sea to Antos. The records of the city record the arrival of the High Septon of Westeros and his stay with the High Septon of Andalos. Together, they announced that the Seven would spread their light to the First Men… _pg.110_

King Rynel Allyrion gave the Faith a loan to build a small fleet and personally donated supplies to the venture, other Lords followed the King's lead… _pg.143_

Records made by the Faith in Andalos,counted three chapters of Warrior's Sons, 9,000 Poor Fellows and over 200 Septas/Septons made the voyage west, landing in Oldtown… _pg.146_

"The Starry Service" is the local name used for the extremely large religious ceremony conducted after the Faith's forces landed in Westeros. Transcriptions of the sermon summarize the High Septon's blessing as the Faith began their quest to "spread goodwill and faith to the lost children of Westeros."... _pg.147_

Under the orders of Archmaester Yoren, the movements of these Andals was carefully recorded and reported. The Warrior's Sons established their chapters in Oldtown, King's Landing and Lannisport. The Septons and Poor Fellows spread through the Reach and then into the Westerlands… _pg.153_

The Faith didn't find much support in the rural populations, I speculate this is due to the Seven's focus on making donations of wealth or labour to prove one's piety, the people of Westeros were accustomed to only giving up their time and oaths to the Gods. Several Septons and their bands of Poor Fellows were driven out of the countryside and had to find shelter in the larger cities as no Lord would shelter them. Some Lords would go so far as to put the Faith's men on trial for crimes of disturbing the peace, sending them to the Wall in chains… _pg.158_

Warrior's Sons found a purpose keeping the peace in the cities they visited. This bought them the goodwill of their neighbours but they had difficulty integrating, they were not only foreign and had little to no knowledge of the Old Tongue but they were all knights. In the surviving writings of Grand Captain Martyn, he complains of the lack of First Men Knights joining their order. Though the title of "Knight" was shared by the two continents, its meaning and associated duties varied wildly… _pg.166_

A Knight in Andalos is generally a man of noble blood (whether true born or not) who squired for a Knight and is then knighted himself; either for deeds in battle, showing prowess at a tourney, for political reasons, or through bribery and blackmail. Andal Knights then generally either enter the service of a Lord, hold lands of their own, or travel from keep to keep seeking work. They act as heavy cavalry in war. In Andalos, many Knightly houses make their name fighting the Dothraki. Knights make up the majority of Andal sellsword companies, and are a favourite hire of slavers to escort their product to market… _pg.166_

/

A Knight in Westeros can be of any status. The only way to be knighted was in battle, usually by killing doing a great deed (killing a Lord's personal guard, capturing a high ranking prisoner etc.). Knights typically entered a Lord's service as a bodyguard, sworn to die with their liege and protect him, alternatively they were employed by the King/Lord to train and lead their militias/levys. In times of war, knights were charged with being commanders in the field or charged with manning the fortifications of . Depending on their Kingdom, a Knight's general field of expertise varied; in the North for instance, a small number of knight's were experts in the use of the Umber Axe ( **A/N Dane Axe)** ; in the Vale, knights were encouraged to train as horsemen. Green Men may also be knighted, these men give blessings, ensure the laws of hospitality and honour are followed, and if need be give the God's mercy to dying warriors. The major divider between the two is that Andal Knights are a privileged warrior class existing within Andal nobility, a Westerosi Knight is closer to a military rank or a profession… _from Maester Perce's smaller work "Chivalry Across the Sea"._

/

Letters from various Septons show their growing frustration at their lack of progress, even 5 years into their vaunted mission. I beleive the small number of nobles converting to the Faith was the main drive, though they were doubtlessly hampered by the difficulty translating and adapting the Seven's teaching into Old Tongue without relying on Andol… _pg.175_

The Faith were able to build Stoney Sept into a thriving town due to some patronage from House Piper, but its proximity to High Heart and the God's Eye caused some tension with passing pilgrims and Green Men… _pg.177_

The Faith's presence in King's Landing was the most secure outside of Oldtown due to the Andal High Septon's position. As an envoy of King Allyrion, the High Septon helped negotiate trade with Andalos. His presence so close to the King spawned rumors that Aegon planned on converting to the Seven. To counter this his Small Council, specifically Lord Edmyn Tully, advised he bring a Green Man to court. Queen Visenya sent for a Green Man she'd befriended on Driftmark in her Childhood. Green Man Rhaela arrived, and accompanying here was a contingent of men and woman from Heartsport and Heart's Rest, who called themselves "Horned Guards". They assisted her in watching over the nearby Godswoods and maintaining the Old Gods' prominence in the Capital… _pg.180_

There was relative peace, in a religious sense, while Aegon ruled. The Faith remained a minority religion but became popular in the Crownlands and parts of the Reach and Riverlands… _pg.193_

* * *

 **Stars and Swords: The Seven in Westeros, Volume 2 by Maester Perce**

During the 12th Small Council session of 6752 AL (41AC), King Aenys announced his intention to wed his eldest children to one another. The Faith of the Seven was outraged, they decided the Targaryens had finally gone too far. King Aenys could not be dissuaded… _pg.32_

Septon Murmison, who officiated the incestuous marriage, was thrown out of the Faith. His body was found later that week, he'd been murdered; most likely by the Poor Fellows who'd flooded into King's Landing… _pg.36_

The newly wed Prince Aegon and Princess Rhaena left for a royal progress. In their wake rumors spread among the Poor Fellows that the Green Men had encouraged the Targaren's incestuous leaning; these fear mongers used the lack of formal denunciation of the incestuous union as proof… _pg.38_

When they scaled the walls of the Red Keep, we know some went to kill the royal family, King Aenys and Queen Alyssa were saved by Ser Raymont Durrandon; the others went to burn down the Godswood, which was nearly destroyed… _pg.38_

King Aenys fled with his family to Dragonstone with Dowage Queen Visenya. Prince Maegor remained to set the city back in order, which had erupted into a riot between follower's of the Old Gods and the Seven… _pg.40_

The Warrior's Sons fortified the Sept of Remembrance, a sept funded entirely by pious Lords from Andalos. Green Man Robeta called for volunteers to join the Horned Guards and protect the Godswoods. Small clashes between Poor Fellows and newly formed Horned Guards sprang up across the continent, most famously at the Slaughter of High Heart. In King's Landing a contingent of knights from the Stormlands arrived to reinforce the Horned Guards… _pg.40_

The memoirs of Princess Rhaena describe her royal progress with her husband Prince Aegon. The royals received courteous but luke-warm reception from the Houses they visited. The religious unrest broke out while they were guests of Lord Leman Crakehall. A small army of Poor Fellows left Lannisport and descended on Crakehall, putting the keep "under siege" with support from the Warrior's Sons… The Faithful at Crakehall would be dispersed by Lord Lannister after news spread that Prince Maegor had squashed the Seven's warriors in the capital… _pg.42_

When King Aenys heard the news of his children trapped in Crakehall he collapsed. The notes of Dragonstone's Maester describe his steady decline and death a few days after… _pg.46_

In King's Landing, during the 5th month of 6753 AL (42 AC) Prince Maegor would declare himself King... He negotiated with Green Man Robeta for the Horned Guard and her knights to support him when he flew to the Sept of Remembrance… He was challenged by Ser Istan Vyrwel, the Grand Captain of the Warrior's Sons, to a Trial of Seven. Maegor agreed and was the only survivor of the battle… His injury was severe and he collapsed after being declared victor… Queen Cerys Hightower allowed Green Man Robeta to tend to Maegor, who awoke 2 days later… Maegor would burn the Sept of Remembrance and kill any who fled the fires of Belarion… _pg.50-52_  
 _  
_Maegor's Tyranny is well documented… He hunted down the Poor Fellows and at his prompting, Lords across Westeros threw out chapters of Warrior's Sons and refused to shelter Poor Fellows… A few minor lords rebelled but were put back in line by the Lord Paramounts… _pg.52-55_

Following his victories he announced he would marry Green Man Robeta, this was met with some disagreements but after Maegor beheaded Grand Maester Myles, most fell in line… Some Lords were even pleased at the idea of having true First Man Blood running in the royal line… Maegor didn't even marry her in a Sept, just in a Godswood. Maegor is remembered as having become more inclined to the faith of the Old Gods, because "The Seven insist that a man answer to the weak. The Old Gods insist that a man must answer to himself"... _pg.59_

Maegor's next act would cement his reputation as "Maegor the Cruel". That same year, near the God's Eye, he attacked and killed his nephew Prince Aegon; who had garnered enough support to push his own claim on the Iron Throne… King Maegor had a firm hold on the throne and no real opposition to his rule… _pg.59-61_

 _Maester Perce specialized in Economics and History. His interest in the history of religion in Westeros came from his brother's decision to join the Green Men. He was good friends with a number of Septons and also exchanged frequent letters with his brother. After writing his books, Maester Perce would go on to serve as the Maester of Weirthrone._

 **A/N: So this is my "test" format for the next section of the fic. Framing it as excerpts from a book allows me to add a certain amount of POV and character into the story. Thanks for reading, feedback welcome.**


	8. 6754-6815 AL

**The Lords of Dragonstone by Green Man Warrick**

King Maegor I's abdication would not come at the price of bloodshed as many suspected. During the 3rd Moon of 6754 AL (43 AC) Maegor and his bride Robeta, the former Green Man advisor to the King, made a royal progress to the God's Eye. They stayed as guests of House Faehail at Weirthrone for many weeks while making quick visits to the Isle of Faces… Many Green Men agree that it is upon the Isle of Faces that Maegor first and only child was conceived… Maegor returned from his progress changed… _pg.12-16_

In _Robeta's Tales_ , a book penned by Robeta's longtime handmaiden Lilyn, Robeta had spent weeks convincing Maegor that the only way for him to sire a child was with the aid of the Old Gods… When the royal couple returned, Maegor was impatient and restless, calming only when Robeta and the Grand Maester confirmed she was with child… During her pregnancy Maegor spent every morning in the Godswoods … _pg.20-22_

He spent many afternoons in his solars with the older Lords of the Kingdom, seeking lessons that the First Men had passed down the generations, but the Targaryens were ignorant to… Maegor was the first Targaryen King to punish criminals in the old way, unlike his parents who used rope or dragonfire… When Maegor sentenced the last of the Warrior's Sons and Poor Fellows to death for crimes against the crown, he took them to the Red Keep's Godswood and beheaded them, using their blood to water the weirwoods… _pg.24_

Maegor's daughter, Daceyra, carried Robeta's Redfort looks but with shining Valyrian eyes and hair… Many expected Maegor to be furious, instead he was by all accounts infatuated with the girl… _Robeta's Tales_ depicts Maegor as a stern, unrelenting and often harsh King, in private he was not especially soft but supposedly very attentive to his child… _pg.28-30_

Maegor continued to surprise his court when he invited his nephew Jaehaerys to come to King's Landing. Some feared, primarily Lord Rogar Durrandon, the King meant to execute his nephew to remove a threat to his throne… Jaehaerys arrived with armed men from the Stormlands, an "honour guard" sent by Lord Rogar… Maegor again surprised many by having Jaehaerys taught alongside his daughter, even bringing both children along with him to deal with matters of the realm, such as enforcing the ban on the Faith of the Seven from raising arms… Maegor was thorough and sent many Septons and Septa, along with the occasional rebelling noble, to the Wall… Maegor and Jaehaerys united opinion on the Faith of the Seven eroded its support to only Oldtown, Stoney Sept and Lannisport… _pg.30-34_

As the years passed and Jaehaerys' majority grew closer and closer, questions of succession ran amok. Many noted that Maegor had not decreed the crown would pass over Jaehaerys for Daceyra… The most popular theory was that the Cruel King would wed them… When Alyssane arrived at court, Jaehaerys announced they had already wed… Maegor was furious, Lord Rogar was heard pleading with Jaehaerys to flee the Red Keep before Belarion came for them all, the Prince refused… On Jaehaerys 16th nameday, the court was called to the Throne Room. Sitting upon the Iron Throne was Maegor in all his furious glory, standing at the base was the Crown Prince… The court was split between those who supported the older King or the younger Prince… The singers expected a day of bloodshed… No one predicted that King Maegor "The Cruel" would step down from his throne and lay a golden band with seven different coloured gems upon his nephew's brow… _pg.45-50_

Maegor abdicated the Throne in 6167 AL (50 AC), crowning Jaehaerys I King and his sister-wife Queen… Leaving the capital with his two wives and his daughter, he retreated to Dragonstone and began his own branch family, House Targaryen of Dragonstone… No one dared question Maegor's decision in his presence, once again _Robeta's Tales_ describes how Maegor was convinced that once he died his daughter would be deposed, that his crime of kinslaying would taint the Targaryen dynasty for years to come… King Jaehaerys granted Maegor the Lordship of Dragonstone… Daceyra Targaryen would marry Clayten Dayne… Maegor was the one to plant the massive Godswood on Dragonstone… The song _Balerion's Tree_ recounts how Maegor grew a Godswood so quickly on the barren island; it says Maegor took a third wife, A Child of the Forest. Under her direction Belarion would fly out to the Narrow Sea and lift boats of pirates out of the water and drop them on the shores of Dragonstone, the pirates would then be taken to the Godswood and their throats were slit, the blood was collected and used to water the saplings, there innards were cut out and draped onto the branches of the older trees and their bodies buried in the soil… Obviously this was an exaggeration, it is believable that Maegor invited a Child to rest on Dragonstone but unlikely he engaged in such vicious practices without word getting out… House Targaryen of Dragonstone became on of the most devout Houses in Westeros… _pg.51-80_

 _Green Man Warrick was a traveling Green Man who spent years in King's Landing and on Dragonstone. He was rumored to be a descendant of Robeta's brother, the Lord Redfort._

* * *

 **A Wise Dragon by Maester Floran**

Jaehaerys I "The Old King", spent his early reign attempting to unify the Kingdoms behind the Targaryen dynasty and exert greater control over the laws and practices of the realm… The King and Queen set out on a series of royal visits in 6763 AL (51 AC), their first stop was Weirthrone… There they made a very public visit with Lord Rickon Faehail, and made a promise to protect the Isle of Faces and High Heart as long as their family ruled… They took a boat, as their grandfather Aegon had, to the Isle proper. The visit was brief, afterwards the King seemed troubled for some unknown reason. Many speculate whatever he was told or saw on the Isle inspired the royal family's devotion to the Old Gods that made Jaehaerys very popular with the more pious Lords… _pg.40-41_

The Royal couple finally went North and Jaehaerys was awed by the strength and width of the Stark lands… He visited the Wall and made the acquaintance of Lord Wullhart of Tunnel and the other Northern Clans… While staying at the Nightfort, Queen Alysanne was so charmed by the Night Watch's mission, she agreed to fund the construction of another castle, called Deep Lake… Queen Alysanne also took a liking to the daughter of Lord Whitewull, and took her on as a Lady-in-waiting… _pg.47-50_

When King Jaehaerys began work on his law-code, he was heavily influenced by his wife, his Master of Laws Lord Massey, and Green Man Jonos… The offer of serving in the Night's Watch was mandated as an alternative punishment to any lethal or crippling punishment… New laws were set in that ensured every Lord Paramount put away a special tithe known as a Winter Fund… The practice of the First Night was outlawed and the Widow's Rights to name a few of his laws… _pg.70-73_

Jaehaerys had an abundance of children but each offered their own challenges… Some died, his daughter Maegelle became a Green Man, Saera Targaryen was caught in bed with multiple married men and fled to Dragonstone rather than face her father… _pg.125_

Prince Aemon died in 6804 AL (92 AC), Jaehaerys then passed over his daughter Rhaenys and named her younger brother, Baelon, heir… Baelon passed as well in 6813 AL (101 AC) prompting Jaehaerys to name a new heir… On the recommendation of his Small Council, King Jaehaerys called a Grand Council but it came to be called a Dragonsmoot… Of all the claimants proposed the most popular candidates were Prince Viserys, the son of Prince Baelon, and Princess Rhaenys, the daughter of Prince Aemon… With the support of the Durrandons, the Daynes, Royces and most importantly, the Targaryens of Dragonstone, Princess Rhaenys won the vote… _pg.176-190_

As recompense to Prince Viserys, King Jaehaerys commissioned a castle be built in the Reach between Longtable and Tumbleton… Upon completion, Jaehaerys names Viserys Prince of Summer Nest… _pg.196-200_

King Jaehaerys passed away in 4815 AL (103 AC), succeeded by his daughter Queen Rhaenys I, who came to be called "The Chosen Queen"... _pg.208_

 _Maester Floran was an archivist sworn to the Targaryens of Dragonstone. He wrote "The Wise Dragon" as a gift for Lord Jeorys Targaryen as a nameday gift._


End file.
